


Genie Wanted (Like It or Not)

by orphan_account



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 54,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25104892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Shahra is gone. The ring needs a new genie. Sonic never signed up for this
Comments: 19
Kudos: 48





	1. Prologue

“You just don’t give up, do you?” Sonic asked, staring warily at the djinn before him

“You’ve brought me all seven World Rings…” Erazor said. His eyes were focused on Shahra, an almost desperate gleam to them. “Well done!” 

Sonic gave him a thumbs up. “Hey, of course! We’re such good buddies, after all,” he replied mockingly. Erazor pointedly ignored him, instead giving his full attention to the girl beside the blue hedgehog.

“Shahra!” he commanded. She floated forward silently. “You have done well in using him to gather the rings,” he said. “Now, give them to me!” A tense silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Sonic interjected, indignant. 

He gestured to the flame on his chest. “Hey, hold on! Aren’t you going to do something about this?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes at the evil djinn. Erazor ignored him again, holding out a hand to Shahra.

The girl turned her gaze away from him, biting her lip in a fit of nerves. “Shahra, please, quickly!” the djinn said, the desperate gleam in his eyes returning. “Let us rule the world together!” She bit deeper down on her lip, eyes screwing shut in a moment of internal struggle.

Sonic looked on in disbelief as she came closer to Erazor, the rings appearing in the air beside her. “Shahra?!” he gasped. “What’s…” 

“I…I must,” she whispered, looking down. Sonic took a step forward.

“Shahra, stop!” he yelled. She froze for a brief second, eyes flicking over to him. “You can’t do this!” he continued. “Think about what will happen!” The girl glanced up at Erazor, who simply smirked.

She looked down again. “I’m sorry, I have no choice…” she whispered, barely loud enough to be heard.

“I just want to be back with him.” 

The blue hedgehog took another step forward, anger rising. He raised his right hand close to his chest, left hovering over it. “No! As Genie of the Ring, I command you! Do what you truly think is right!” 

A jolt of energy surged through Shahra, causing her to cry out and cover her ears before she collapsed. Alarm passed over Sonic’s face as he shouted her name and dashed over. 

The sound of a low cackle made him look up, Erazor holding the rings before him.

“Prayers…sadness….rage…hatred,” the djinn said. Sonic clenched his jaw, staring daggers at the villain. “Joy, pleasure, and wishes,” he finished, paying the two no mind. “The seven hearts that make up the stories. These are the seven World Rings that bind these pages together!” 

“What – “ 

“But the life of the collector of the rings shall be offered up in sacrifice as the key for that control,” Erazor said, this time looking directly at Sonic. “I offer up **your** life, blue hedgehog!” 

With that, he threw his scimitar. Sonic could only look on in horror as the blade whistled through the air. He slammed his eyes shut, awaiting the impact.

A sudden weight on his shoulders was the last thing he expected, however. Opening his eyes, he immediately caught sight of the girl genie halfway hanging onto him. “Shahra!” he gasped as her grip loosened and she fell to the ground once more. A small smile lit up her face.

“Sonic…” she breathed out slowly. “I’m…sorry.” Before he could respond, a deafening shriek filled the room. The hedgehog looked up, eyes widening in shock at what he saw. Where once stood Erazor now was an amorphous creature, its voice beginning to shake the hall. A mix of disgust and confusion filled the boy’s face as he looked up at it.

Then suddenly, it spoke. “I am Alf Layla wa – Layla…I **am** the Arabian Nights. I will be its new creator! I will remake this world and this reality in my own image!”

“This is awful,” Sonic muttered to himself. “You’re just some incomplete monster…” 

His fists clenched, teeth grinding even as a few tears slipped from his eyes. Thoughts of _hurt_ and _pain_ began to form in his mind. _You killed Shahra…I’ll make you pay_. Bolts of light appeared within Erazor, three of the seven rings emerging and hovering in the air for a moment before being absorbed into the hedgehog. He screamed, a harsh echo of the pain he felt as his body begin to glow.

“We’ve got to stop him…” he uttered despite the pain. “Shahra! Please, lend me your power!” 

Erazor grew in size, straightening and solidifying his form. “I am…the creator. The stories of this world…are mine…”” he thundered. 

Sonic turned to face him. “If this is your world, then it’s a world that I don’t want any part of!” The djinn bellowed in rage, gesturing his arms out as if to say _come get me_.

The final fight had begun.


	2. The Final Wish

_“The stories of this world…are mine…”_

_Sonic turned to face him. “If this is your world, then it’s a world that I don’t want any part of!”_  
  
He had never been this angry before. It would have unnerved him if he had not been so preoccupied in his throes of hate. Briefly spindashing before breaking into a run towards his opponent, all he could see was red. _If I hadn’t been so slow to react, Shahra would still be here_ , he thought, bitterness underlying the words. _How could I have messed up like that? …Maybe I –_

A ball of fire nearly singed his ear. 

Quickly blinking back into reality, he looked up and realized the djinn had summoned his main method of attack. Dodging the next few, Sonic set himself dead center at Erazor. “Shahra!” he screamed, a surge of tenfold hate filling his heart and speeding up his movements. _There’s something wrong here_. A booming laugh from Erazor as he flew towards Sonic. _This much hate…it’s not normal_. Avoiding fire attacks from above. _Rage, I understand, but hating someone so much you become obsessed with hurting them?_ Spindashing out of the way of direct fire. 

_Why do I feel this way?_

_Is it because of the rings?_

_Or is it something else?_

_…Shahra couldn’t have meant _that_ much to me….could she have?_

Sonic curled into another spin as Erazor continued his assault. “It would take a miracle for you to avoid my attacks!” he cried, hurling a much larger fireball at the blue hedgehog. Then he chuckled, lowering his hands for a minute. “If only Shahra had died from the arrow to start with. I was being rather generous with that curse, it’s one of the less painful ways to go. Of course, I would have made your demise painless as well, generous that I am. You would not have taken such suffering if you had only submitted to my first command.”

“You call killing someone generous?” Sonic retorted. The djinn chuckled again.

“Would you have preferred that I torture her alive?” he asked. Sonic’s eyes widened. 

_The way that she spoke about him…_ he thought. “Did you ever even love her? With the way that you treated her? She sure seemed to love you.”

A scowl appeared on the villain’s face. He summoned another attack. “Do not speak of things on which you have no knowledge, rat!” Erazor prepared to throw the fireball, but Sonic was too fast. With a powerful spin, he aimed his fists straight at the djinn’s chest. _It’s a good thing they can keep up with my feet_ , he inwardly laughed, _otherwise I’d be screwed right now._ Yelling in anger, he landed one last hit on his chest, knocking the genie backwards.

Erazor stilled, with only the occasional twitch to show he was affected. “How can you have this much power?” he roared. Sonic broke into another spindash as the djinn pulled out his scimitar, striking at the hedgehog. 

“It’s not that,” Sonic said after a few minutes of fighting. “It’s just that you’re too predictable!”

The djinn growled, readying his scimitar. 

“I mean, all you’ve been doing is throwing fire at me. Don’t you have anything else? That’s why you’re too easy to beat!” The scimitar sailed past him. “Hey, watch it!” he yelled. “You almost got my ear with that!”

“It should have,” Erazor replied. “Then you would not hear me coming!”

The hedgehog started to move into a spindash again. “I – “ 

“Your fate has already been determined by me!” the genie announced. “Even if you were not cursed by fire, I hold the pen that writes these legends! If I wish, I can simply write you out of existence.”

Sonic stopped, hesitant. _Is he being serious? …If he were, wouldn’t he have done that already? He might just be bluffing._ He straightened, looking Erazor dead in the eye. “You’re lying.” 

Erazor grinned. “Am I?” He gestured a hand as smoke billowed out. “Allow me to show how wrong you are.” 

Something within the blue hedgehog’s mind snapped. He growled and clenched his fists, getting back into a spindash. “My fate is my own,” he said lowly. “No one, especially you, can decide otherwise.” He moved. Slamming into the enemy at what felt like three hundred miles per hour, Sonic forced the djinn back. Erazor howled in agony, listing over and convulsing into twisted positions. A mix of light and fire radiated off him, enveloping the whole room in a world of white.

“Your tale is finished, Erazor!” the hedgehog said. “Next time, try writing a better story.” 

The light slowly faded, revealing a weary djinn sprawled out on the floor of the hall. Sonic raised his right fist, briefly glowing as the rings released him from their power up. Reaching for his scimitar, Erazor stood. “I shall not be defeated. If you defeat me, I will simply return, again and again. I am immortal! I cannot be vanquished!” He laughed. Sonic just waited for him to finish, a lamp held not so subtly behind his back. The genie soon spotted it, eyes going wide in shock. “That can’t be! That’s…the – “ 

“The genie of the lamp is supposed to grant three wishes, am I right?”

“I will never grant any wish from the likes of you!” Erazor retorted. A glint from the ring on the boy’s finger caught his eye. He smirked. “Even if I would, they’d never work for you.” _Now I understand how he had the power to defeat me…_

The hero tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean by that?” 

_Must I tell him? It would be rather amusing to see his reaction…as I still have enough power left to take him down in his current state._ “You are simply not worthy enough for a wish granted by a genie of the lamp,” Erazor scoffed. “Only the strongest may wield power over me!” Sonic blinked at him.

“I just _defeated_ you, or did you already forget?” Sonic asked in a mocking tone. He walked over to the throne in the center of the room, sitting down. He raised a finger. “My first wish – “

“It is you who forgets, blue hedgehog.”

“…What?” 

“You are still wearing the ring.” 

Sonic glanced down at the object. “Yeah? What about it?” A touch of anger colored the last word. Erazor said nothing for a moment, grinning in a way that unnerved Sonic. He narrowed his eyes. “Are you just messing with me?” 

“I shall enlighten you, hedgehog, before you meet your end.” 

Sonic groaned, rolling his eyes. “Again with that? I _defeated –_ “

“Take off the ring.”

“Huh?”

“Do it, rat.”

Gloved fingers slowly rose up to touch it, hesitation and wariness clear on the hedgehog’s face. 

_Has the ring always been this tight?_


	3. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter of the big reveal! ...If only Erazor had kept his mouth shut.
> 
> How will Sonic react?

_“Take off the ring.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Do it, rat.”_

Those words echoed through Sonic’s mind as he slowly moved his hand up towards the ring, a sickening sense of unease filling him. _What does Erazor know about it that I don’t?_ The genie did nothing but grin as he looked on, making Sonic even more unnerved. Eyes narrowed, he froze his hand over the ring as he turned his head to glare at the man. “I’m not doing anything else until you start explaining exactly what you’re trying with Shahra’s ring.” 

Erazor uttered a laugh. “What makes you think I am trying something? I said I would enlighten you.”

“And the ring has something to do with this enlightenment?” 

“Precisely. If you take it off, you will see.” 

Sonic touched the ring carefully before hesitating. “Why are you so suddenly interested in this?”

The djinn crossed his arms. “The ring itself does not interest me, rat.”

“Then why are you trying to get me to take it off, if you don’t want it?” Sonic looked at the ring again. “Unless…it can’t come off, can it?” Erazor laughed darkly. 

“You can tell already, rat?” he asked.

“…Look, I’m still not sure what you’re trying to do here, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t – “

“The lamp.” 

Sonic stopped, mouth still open as he struggled to speak. “You know, you should really stop interrupting people when they’re in the middle of a sentence.” 

Erazor ignored that, gesturing to the lamp in Sonic’s lap. “Pick it up.” 

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes. “Why?” 

“You can feel my aura around it, can you not?” 

Glancing down at the object in question, Sonic shook his head. “You’ve officially lost it. Feel your aura around it? What does that even mean?” He looked back up. “Are you going to tell me next I can see ghosts? See into the future?”

“No, we cannot do that,” Erazor replied. “W – _most of us_ are as mortal as the others from this world and yours are.” 

“…Okay…but why are you using ‘we’ in that way? Like you’re not – “

The djinn let out an annoyed groan. “It seems that intelligence is not one of your new abilities.” Sonic froze only for a second, before clenching his jaw and glaring hard at the djinn. _Of all the nerve…_ the hedgehog thought, anger beginning to rise again.

Then the rest of the sentence registered in his mind. “Wait, what do you mean by new abilities? Is that a joke? You’re still trying to mess with me, aren’t you?” Erazor opened his mouth as if to respond, but the hedgehog ignored him. “Well, I’m sick of listening to you.” Sonic picked up the lamp, hands wrapped tightly around the base. “Let’s just get back to where we left off – my first wish is for you to bring Shahra back to life!” 

The seconds ticked by tersely. Erazor simply stood in the middle of the hall, arms crossed as he waited for Sonic to speak. The hero’s eyes flicked down to the lamp then to the djinn again. “Giving me the silent treatment?” he said. “A genie can’t refuse a wish, can he?”

“Actually, I can,” the man said, “if the one wishing is the same as me. A djinn cannot impose wishes upon another djinn.” _He has the nerve to look surprised…as if I have never suggested anything to him in the first place._

Sonic laughed rather weakly, a hand moving up to grab the side of his head. “You’re joking again, right?” he asked. Erazor shook his head. 

“You already know that you cannot take the ring off.”

“…Yes?” 

“Why do you think that is, hedgehog?” 

Without waiting for an answer, Erazor continued. “For us djinn, there are certain magical objects that we are bound to. Objects that were specifically crafted to hold us. As such, when we die, that object can no longer fulfill its purpose and will seek out a new bond.”

The silence was oppressive as Sonic processed what he had just heard. Eventually, though, he spoke again. “And this applies to me?” he said quietly. The djinn nodded as he smirked.

The lamp slipped from the hero’s hands onto the floor, the thick carpet muffling its abrasive clang. Tears shone in his eyes as he quickly lowered his head, hoping to hide it. “Why didn’t you just tell me this sooner?” he demanded angrily. “You made me think you were pulling some practical joke on me, wasting my time here, and then you go and tell me something as huge as this?!”

“It amused me.”

“Are you serious? …Wait, no, that’s right, everything’s a big joke to you!” Sonic leaned back, closing his eyes as he laughed hysterically. His shoulders trembled as he then fell over onto his side, strained gasps escaping as he attempted to calm down.

Erazor watched him, expression carefully molded in neutrality. _What should I do? With his current power level and my reduced energy, we may be more than a match for each other…but I am not interested in a stalemate. He does not also seem like the type to blindly follow, either. …Perhaps I may appeal to his current state of mind. He will need someone to show him the basics of his powers, and I can use that to my advantage._

After Sonic had calmed down a bit, Erazor stepped forward and spoke. “I propose a deal for you, hedgehog.” 

The hero took in a deep breath before meeting his eye. “Like I’d ever accept a deal from you.” The djinn smiled. _Just what I wanted him to say._

“You are still a new djinn, and you will need someone with more experience to teach you how to use your new abilities,” he replied. 

“And you think you’re the right guy to do it?” the boy retorted. 

“Yes. I am aware that we have been on opposite sides up until now, but I am willing to overlook your aggression towards me if you’d be willing to allow me to help you.”

The hedgehog rolled his eyes. “C’mon, you gotta try better than that. No way I’m letting you off the hook that easily.” _He is just as resistant as I expected, but I know exactly how to handle this._

“Perhaps I should tell you a story.”

“A story? Really?”

“Yes. Everything I have done will make sense, once you have heard it. You will know Shahra and I’s past as well.” 

Sonic thought it over for a moment. “Well, even if you did try to attack me, I could still take you down…so I suppose a story can be allowed.” 

Erazor grinned. _You will know nothing else but me once this tale is done._


	4. In All Honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erazor and Sonic make a deal. In other news, a familiar new character appears.

The djinn had never planned on this happening. 

He had expected, from the start, to get rid of both genie and hedgehog no matter how many circumstantial obstacles stood before him, and it was a true testament to his ability to adapt to things unforeseen that he was not panicking right now. As he wove the tale, he kept a close eye on the boy, noting with delight how it slowly changed from disinterest to surprise to utter enrapture. 

_It was then that Scheherazade entered the room, hovering close to the door until Shahryar bade her to approach him. “I offer you a gift in this time before I am to be sent away,” she said. He rose an eyebrow, intrigued but not willing to show it at the same time._

_“Do you?” he replied. “Sit and show me.”_

_She obeyed, folding her hands together. “It is not a gift to be shown, but rather told. It is the last thing I can offer this world.” As she continued to speak, Shahryar thought for sure there was elegant music playing somewhere in the background, to match her most vivacious words._

Erazor broke off from his tale once he noticed the distraught look on the hedgehog’s face. “What is wrong?” he mocked. 

Sonic seemed unsure of what to say for a moment. “…You were killing every woman you were married to, and you expect me to believe you were in the wrong? There have to be better ways to handle that kind of stuff.” 

“I do not expect you to understand just how painful adultery is,” the djinn said.

“…Maybe not, but the way you were dealing with it was completely inappropriate, I know that much.” Erazor shook his head. 

“You truly are a child,” he said. “To prevent pain, there are certain measures that must be taken in order to go on.” 

Sonic looked at him incredulously. “And that justifies murder somehow?” 

“You will come to understand by the end of this tale.”

“I seriously doubt it,” he muttered, but remained quiet as Erazor resumed the story. Seconds turned into minutes, which soon felt like hours as the tale continued. The djinn was nowhere near as masterful a storyteller as his wife had been, but it was enough to envelop the room in a thrilling atmosphere. 

_Scheherazade stood motionless as her husband greeted her at the door of their bedchambers, trying and failing to not look excited. “Good evening to you,” he said. “Come inside and we shall begin.” She did as he said, the door quietly clicking shut behind her. He motioned her over to the bed. In a soft manner, she spoke, and Shahryar once again heard the music that had been the same for the past year. When the tale finished for the night, he looked at her with an appreciative gleam in his eyes. “The stories you have told me are most wonderful,” he said. “So much so that I must say with a sincere heart that I love you.” He took one of her hands. “The execution will be permanently called off.”_

“Unfortunately,” Erazor said, interrupting the tale, “it was not to be. Soon after that declaration, I found out that she had been in the presence of a djinn for some time, using the stories he had told her with me. In a fit of anger, I killed him. But as fate would have it, she was wearing the ring at the time of his death, and as such replaced him.” 

Sonic’s breath caught in his throat. “She did…?” _Just like me_ , he thought sadly. 

“Yes. She left me after that, telling me that she would look for a way to undo it, but I suspected her of deception and followed her. During my travels, I came across another djinn, who promised me eternal riches if I freed him from his lamp forever. Naïve as I was, I did as he asked, only to be tricked into replacing him as well.”

“At first, I cursed my fate…but then I realized something. As a djinn, I was capable of so much more than I had been before. I could live forever. I could grant myself anything I wanted. For centuries, I lived in style – I traveled well and acquired many items of wealth. It was not until recently that I met Shahra again, and I realized that suddenly I was not satisfied with my current possessions.” 

He paused to clear his throat, Sonic taking that moment to speak. “So you decided to take over this world?” 

“Precisely – I knew that with my power I was more than capable of doing it. The only problem was that I needed more if I wished to _become_ this world. I soon learned of the World Rings, and enlisted Shahra with the task of finding them. It seems, though, that she knew of my true plans the whole time, as she betrayed me by bringing you here.” 

“Betrayed you? She wanted to stop you because you’re a tyrant,” the hero said, glaring.

The man chuckled. “Still holding onto those naïve ideals, I see. I understand, though, as I was once the same way. But pain and power are great teachers. You, too, will see that with time.” 

_With time_ …the blue hedgehog thought. A somewhat thoughtful expression appeared on his face. “How long would I be alive? Am I immortal like you?” Erazor shook his head.

“Immortality is reserved only for the angels…and those worthy of it, of course,” he replied.

“What – “ 

“Although w – the average djinn lives longer than most, infallibility is not something that comes naturally. Eventually, a mistake _will_ happen, and a life will be lost. Such as Shahra’s.”

Sonic looked a tad angry at the mention of the girl genie. _He still speaks so lightly of her…_ “What do you say, then?” Erazor asked, gesturing his arms out. “Will you allow me to teach you? I do believe it would greatly benefit you.”

The boy frowned. “I still can’t trust that you’re not going to attack me the second I let my guard down.” 

“I will recite an oath, then, ensuring my truthfulness and pacificity. If I am to lie, see to it that I commit one of the many trials,” the djinn promised. 

“Well, uh – “ 

“Asha born of Ahura Mazda, of one hundred and one names,” Erazor interrupted again, “I will use you as witness to my invocation of Mihr, who may grant me acceptance in this oath. I do stand before your holy fire and pledge nothing but my honesty.”

The room was eerily quiet for what seemed like a long while. Then Erazor smiled. “It is done,” he announced. Sonic scanned the hall as if searching for something. 

“But nothing hap – “

“Let us now discuss the details of our deal,” the djinn said. Sonic looked annoyed. _Seriously? How many times is he going to do this?_

As the two were going over the specifics of their partnership, a small figure battled his way through the rough winds that covered the sandy hills, brilliant stars twinkling overhead. 

_I’m almost there_ , he thought in determination. _If I can make it through this desert, that is…_

A particularly strong wind accosted him from behind, blowing his cloak about him and making him lose his vision. He cried out in fear as his foot slipped, tumbling down a steep sandy slope. Quickly recovering his bearings, he pushed his cloak back into place and set off again, looking to the stars to guide his way. 

_I’m coming for you, Persepolis._


	5. Old Faces, New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and familiar new friend finally meet! We also meet bandits and a mysterious "friend" of Erazor's - what could possibly happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this chapter felt like it took forever to write. Hope you guys like it, I know I certainly do.

As the stars slowly faded from the sky, a melodious quiet filled the air. _…Almost too quiet_ , he thought, perched low at the top of the hill as he awaited the first rays of light to indicate the day had begun. Behind and next to him crouched his men, with similar eager expressions. Without turning to look, he whispered just loud enough for them to hear, “At first light, we move. The little brat is headed here, I know it for sure. Once we get into the city, draw no unnecessary attention. Whoever sees him first, grab him and meet up with the rest of us. We’ll leave immediately. Understand?”

Nodding, they started to shift into position, watching with bated breath as the sky gradually lightened and a brilliant yellow arose at the end of the horizon. Raising his fist, the leader yelled. Then all was chaos as dust stirred and flew in every direction, sand trampled mercilessly underneath heavy feet.

A few miles away, the target of the pursuers was taking a moment to relax in the town square, blissfully unaware of the danger that would soon befall him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, daring a glance up towards the sun. _It’s hotter than normal today…I better hurry before those guys find me here._ He stood up and adjusted his satchel, looking around for a shady spot. He was not able to move much further, however, when a hand gripped the back of his head. “Hello there,” a raspy voice said. “Why don’t you come with me, brat?”

Twisting around, the boy grabbed his assailant’s wrist and bent it backwards, ignoring the man’s gasps of pain. “I’m not telling you the password,” he growled. “So just give up already.”

The man groaned, holding his wrist tenderly. A figure behind the brat moved into his sight, and he inwardly grinned. Looking down, he winked at the boy. “Might want to choose your next words carefully.” Ali didn’t have time to question that as a sharp pain suddenly struck the back of his head and all went dark.

Back at the palace, Erazor was having trouble of his own as well.

While he had been successful in gaining the blue hedgehog’s alliance, albeit reluctantly, he soon found that the new djinn had a tendency to question _every_ part of his arrangement. Despite deliberately leaving out what he was being honest about in the oath, he could still feel the strain of it on his heart, and he was well aware of the consequences if he broke it. It was difficult keeping it, as the hedgehog was quickly proving.

“Do I have to go with you?”

 _“Yes,_ rat. It is better to learn that way, as I have already mentioned.”

“But…” Sonic glanced over at where Shahra had been. “Shouldn’t we – “

“Do not worry about her, rat,” Erazor said, crossing his arms. “Djinn naturally dissolve into smoke when we die. We do not require burials.”

“That’s not what – “

“Let us go, then.”

Sonic sighed. _Might as well roll with it if he won’t stop._ “Where are we going?”

“Persepolis. I have…an _acquaintance_ there who will assist you with your powers.”

Just outside the aforementioned city stood a group of men, a boy held tightly in the grip of the tallest one. “I won’t ask so nicely again,” he said. “What is the password?”

Ali shook his head. “And for the last time, I won’t tell you!” he cried. “My family is poor and needs that treasure more than you rotten sh – “ A swift kick to the stomach silenced him.

“Perhaps you need a little more incentive,” the leader mused. “If we held your family hostage, that might make you change your mind.” The boy’s eyes widened. _I can’t let them do that!_ He braced himself, jumping and using his twin tails to his advantage as he slammed the top of his head into the man’s chin, successfully knocking him backwards and getting free of his hold. The man cursed, holding his chin. He gestured at the brat flying away from them. “Don’t let him…escape….what the hell? Is he going _back_ towards Persepolis?”

“He must think he can lose us in the streets!” one of the other men shouted. “He’s taking us all for fools! We’ll show him!” The leader nodded.

“Right! Farid, you’re with me as usual. The rest of you fan out in a circle and try and surround him! That password is as good as ours!” The men cheered before taking off.

The fox tore through the streets, not even daring to see if the men were following him. He wound and wove through endless mazes of road until he ran right into the back of someone. Holding his head in a daze, he looked up. “Sorry…” he muttered. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you okay?” The stranger turned around, and Ali noticed the legs first.

They were blue.

He continued to look up, past white gloves and peach arms to see vivid green eyes shining in concern, then a glint of recognition sparked. “Oh, hey, it’s you!” the blue hedgehog said, holding out a hand. “What are you doing here?”

Gratefully accepting it, the fox stood. He quickly dusted himself off. “I was just…er…um…here on business! Yes!” Dropping his hand back to his side, he took in his new friend’s appearance. “Were you always wearing that?” he asked. Sonic nervously picked at his jacket. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, honest! I was just curious…”

“No, it’s okay,” Sonic said. “A – um…I mean, this _guy,_ yeah, said that I’d fit in better if I got these…so, uh, I did.”

“A guy?”

“Yeah…we kind of made a deal and now we have to hang out together, I guess.”

“Where is he?”

Sonic jerked a thumb at a door behind him. “He told me to wait here while he talked to an old friend about my – uh…stuff, I mean.” Ali was about to respond when he spotted a man at the end of the street behind Sonic, watching them. He stiffened and immediately grabbed the hero’s hand, pulling him in the other direction.

“Hey, what gives?” he demanded.

“Sorry, but we have to go. It’s not safe here.”

“But – “

Sonic’s eyes suddenly drifted up, looking at something behind Ali. They stopped. “Leaving so soon, brat? We didn’t even get to throw you a goodbye party.”

The world went black once more.

Only a handful of feet away, Erazor couldn’t believe his luck. On one hand, he had finally ditched that annoying rat – even if for just ten minutes – and on the other, he had managed to convince his acquaintance to help him in overseeing the boy’s lessons. The very acquaintance who was now peering at him through oversized glasses thoughtfully, a torrent of thoughts running in their mind. “You know, this is a very unusual thing for you to ask me,” they finally said. “I never took you to be compassionate.”

“I am aware, but I have also made an oath. And I do not wish to be subjected to punishment, so I have no choice but to do this,” the djinn replied. They hummed in mild agreement, turning away from him to sort through an insurmountable pile of paper.

“Before I completely decide yes or no, I would like to see him,” they said. “I can get a much better perspective in person.”

Erazor hesitated. “I thought you had already agreed.” They looked at him with a hint of disbelief.

“We may not be on the best of terms at all times, but I assumed you knew me well enough to know that I never take on anybody without seeing them for myself…perhaps I was wrong,” they added as an afterthought. “Of course, I understand if you are not willing to show him. You _do_ have a tendency to hide your prizes…”

The djinn snapped, “He is not my prize! I will gladly bring him in if it will get you to shut up!” With that, he left, making it a point to slam the door behind him. The acquaintance merely smirked.

“You are incredibly predictable.”

As Erazor and his acquaintance spoke, the fox and hedgehog had run the entirety of the streets and were now in the town square, the former leaning against the wall of a building and trying to catch his breath. “Why are you so tired? I was the one carrying you,” Sonic said teasingly.

Ali panted, attempting to speak. “You…run so fast…couldn’t breathe…”. The hero’s face slipped into a worried expression.

“Sorry…I forgot.” _This isn’t Tails, he’s not used to going at my speed._ “Anyway, I don’t think those guys could’ve followed us all the way out here. We should be safe.”

“Yes…thanks to you,” the fox spoke, remembering what had happened.

_After Ali had been hit, Sonic had gotten in front of him, arms spread out as the man sneered. “Think you’re so tough, freak?” He slipped a knife out from his vest and came downwards in a single motion. The hero smirked._

_“You bet!” In a flash the knife had been torn out of the man’s grip, sailing halfway down the street until it hit the side of a wall. “And don’t you forget it!” He jumped up on the thief, getting right in his face. “Make sure to tell all your friends that, too. If I ever see you messing with him again…”_

_The man let out a strangled shriek, desperately trying to pull the boy off him. “I get it! Really…all we wanted was the password!” Sonic blinked in confusion._

_“A password?”_

_“Yes!”_

_He glanced down at the fox, who was just starting to recover. “That’s why you were after him?” The man nodded frantically. “Huh…okay, then.” Sonic let go, the thief still trembling in terror._

_“…You can’t have it,” a barely audible voice spoke up. Louder, he grew a bit more insistent. “My family is poor and they ** _need_ **the treasure in that cave to survive.”_

Sonic laughed a bit. “Man, I can’t believe he got down on his knees and begged us for forgiveness after that. Claimed he had no idea the treasure was for ‘such a good cause’ – “

“He was just a victim of circumstance,” Ali said quietly. “I’ve known people like that in my town before, how they were so poor that becoming a thief was the only way they could provide for their family.” He stared down at his kicking feet, brows creased in thought.

The hero was quiet for a bit as he considered that. “I guess it never occurred to me…” he whispered. “How’s your head, by the way? Did he hit you too hard?” The fox shook his head.

“Everything was kind of dizzy for a while, and I think I might have seen stars, but he didn’t hit me hard enough to damage anything.”

“Ah…well, that’s good, then.”

They sat in silence for only a second before a loud, irritated shout echoed across the square. **_“Rat!”_ **Sonic sighed. “I told you to wait right there, did I not?” the furious djinn asked as he stormed over to the duo. “And yet you disobey me the first chance you get. You’re lucky I got my acquaintance to agree to teach you, otherwise I’d have ditched you the moment I realized you were missing!”

Ali looked between the two. “Is this the man you were talking about earlier?” he asked. Sonic gave a quick nod, his attention fully remaining on the seething villain before him.

Erazor flicked his eyes over to the fox. “Who is this?” he demanded.

“A friend, that’s all,” Sonic replied. The djinn frowned at him.

“I see. Well, he’s not needed for your lessons. Let’s go.” Sonic reluctantly slid off from the top of the wall, looking cautiously back at Ali. _Come with me,_ he mouthed. Ali nodded but remained still until he was sure Erazor was far enough away to not suspect anything. He followed them silently as they made their way through the endless maze, quickly ducking into an alleyway when they finally stopped at a thick wooden door.

Erazor knocked three times, shuffling back when the door creaked open and then speaking softly to whoever was on the inside. After a couple seconds, the two moved inside, Sonic casting one last look at Ali’s hiding place before disappearing. Once they were gone, the fox stepped out, twisting his tails in his hands nervously. _Should I sneak in and spy on them? That guy might get mad, though…he didn’t want me to come. But Sonic did! Perhaps he could keep him calm? …It is worth a shot, at least._ With his mind made up, he crawled over to the low – lying window next to the door and carefully peeked in. But he saw nothing but darkness. A tad disappointed, he made his way over to the door and pressed his ear against it, hoping to hear something.

Once again, there was nothing. Pulling back, the fox bit his lip in thought. _Should I just go inside? If it’s dark, that means nobody is in there. But how can that be? I _saw_ them enter!_ Still unsure, he slowly reached up and pulled the door open.

Though the room was dark, a hint of light shone through the floorboards. Sonic looked over his shoulder as he climbed down the ladder, unable to help feeling a bit of awe as he took in the room below stuffed with tables full of scrolls and vials and statues. “You live down here?” he asked in disbelief. Erazor’s friend, just barely out of his sight, nodded.

“Indeed. I am Roshan, though you may call me master. I am the collector of many fine items of value. Erazor would often stop here on his travels to purchase from me. It is how we have come to be such good friends!” The last word was said with a touch of sarcasm, something that did not escape Sonic. He looked on in amusement.

“So, you two are more like friendly rivals then?”

“Indeed. I have often thought to myself that I could do just fine without him, but no one else has such a strong desire for rarities like he does.” Erazor looked a bit proud at that statement.

Then he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the other two. “Let us get down to business,” he said. “Roshan, I assume you know the basics?” They nodded.

Roshan turned to Sonic, a devious grin on their face. “We shall start with flight.”

Somewhere up above them, a young fox was busying himself with investigating every inch of the room. “Where could they have gone?” he muttered. “There’s no other door besides the main one, and I already checked the bookshelves for secret passages.” He stepped back to the doorway and studied the whole of the room for a long while before it suddenly occurred to him. “Of course! If there’s no secret passage in the _wall_ then there must be one in the – “

Looking down at the floor soon proved useful, as he spotted a flash of light coming up from beneath a particularly long board. _Yes!_ he thought excitedly, rushing over and lifting it up with every ounce of strength he had. Pushing it back against the wall, he spotted a ladder propped up against the dirt hole, and he began to climb down.

A voice echoed from somewhere in the room, making the fox’s ears twitch in curiosity. “Very good,” the voice said. “Now keep your focus solely on your feet.” Reaching the bottom, he cautiously peeked around the corner, almost gasping at what he saw. There, floating at least a foot in the air, was Sonic. He inched further back, but still far enough out for him to see what was going on. The man from before stood to the left of Sonic, arms crossed and a deep scowl on his face. Standing in front of the hedgehog was…

Roshan raised their arms. “That was well done, Sonic,” they said. “You may come down now, and we shall move on to the next power – invisibility.” The djinn floated noiselessly to the ground. Ali got down on his hands and feet to better avoid detection, moving a couple inches back as well for good measure. The swish of his tails must have given him away, though, as a single twitch of one of Sonic’s ears told him. He backed up even more despite the hero briefly locking eyes with him and giving a small smile.

“To become invisible,” the stranger said, “a djinn must have an instinctual need to hide. In situations where you are nervous or scared, it becomes easier.” They turned to one of the tables and picked up a scroll. “But this is not about the power being easy! You must learn to do it even when you are calm or happy!” They tapped the scroll against the palm of their hand, looking sternly at Sonic. “This scroll right here will reveal your worst fear. It will also reveal what you desire most. We will use both in order for you to learn today.”

Ali gripped the side of the wall, lifting himself a little higher. It was then that his hand slipped and he fell forward into plain view. It was suddenly deathly quiet as all three occupants of the room turned to face him. He gulped. _Oh no…_

“An uninvited guest, I see,” the stranger said. They looked over at Erazor. “Another prize of yours?” The djinn snapped at them.

“Of course not! He’s from the square – I told him to leave us be!”

The fox stood up, staring angrily at the djinn. “I only followed because – “

He glanced at Sonic, who wore a distraught expression. Taking a deep breath, he changed his words. “Because I did not want to be alone out there.”

The stranger appeared thoughtful. “I do not see a problem with him staying. If he does not distract from my lessons, that is.” They put the scroll back on the table. “We will continue your lesson in invisibility another time, Sonic. For now, Erazor and I have a few things to discuss, and my servant will prepare dinner.”

They muttered a few unintelligible words, and a statue on a nearby table lightly glowed and reformed into a large wooden maiden. Its mouth moved stiffly as it spoke. “Good evening, masters. I await your orders. What do you desire me to do?”

“Prepare dinner,” the stranger said. The maiden blinked and immediately obeyed, disappearing in a flash of smoke.

Roshan motioned Erazor towards the ladder. “Wait,” the djinn said. “There’s still time until dinner – shouldn’t the rat train some more before?” They shook their head.

“He is a guest, not a prisoner,” they replied. “As long as he is my student, he is under my care.”

“Wait, why exactly is Sonic training?” Ali asked.

“To master control of his powers,” Roshan said. “As a new djinn, that is.”

The fox gasped, looking over at the hedgehog. “You’re a djinn?!”

“…Yeah, I guess I am,” the boy whispered. Ali looked excited. He rushed over to Sonic, grabbing his hands. A twinkle appeared in his eye.

“Then you can help me!”

“Say what?”

“You can make those thieves leave me alone!”

“He cannot do so,” Roshan said, “until he has a master to properly wish it.”

Ali turned to Roshan. “Then I’ll do it! I’ll become his master and he can help me!” He gripped Sonic’s hands tighter. “Please allow me to have you!”

Sonic was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to retain his independence. On the other, he felt a strong need to help him, even if he only looked like Tails. “I…” he bit his lip, thinking hard. “I have to think about it,” he finally said. Ali looked only briefly disappointed before nodding, shaking his hands vigorously.

“That’s okay. I’ll wait. As long as I’m with you, I’m safe anyway.” _Why do you have to look and sound so much like him? It’s not fair._

Erazor rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, we are all safe here and what not.” Ali spun around, staring daggers at him.

“You don’t have to be so rude!” he said, jabbing a finger in his direction. “It’s – “

“He is always like this, do not fret,” Roshan interrupted. “You get used to it after a while.”

“…Still,” the fox protested, “he could stand to keep such comments to himself!” Erazor growled at him. “You know I’m right!”

Sonic attempted to calm Ali down. “Just ignore him, okay? It’s better that way.”

The djinn’s temper flared up. “Must I remind you, rat, that you are only here receiving the lessons you need because _you_ listened to me? I should have just let the curse kill you after – “

His head was suddenly thrown backwards, the other two overcome with surprise. Ali hovered in the air, twin tails spinning furiously behind him. He was downright _angry_ this time. “You’re just as bad as those thieves!” the fox declared, fist pulling back for another punch.

Roshan moved in the blink of an eye, gently grabbing the boy’s arm and guiding it back down. “Do not waste your energy on him,” they said with a pointed look at Erazor. “He will receive his just punishment in time.”

“What does that mean?” The fox's question was ignored as Erazor stared hard at Roshan, willing them not to speak any further. He then moved to the ladder and ascended, leaving behind a chilled silence. Sonic was the first to speak.

“So… uh…what’s for dinner?”


	6. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the real world, Tails figures out that Sonic is missing. In the book, some crucial information is revealed.

The clang of something heavy was what woke him up.

It took the fox a few tries to get his head off the table, his arm sore from being used as a pillow. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, slowly looking around for what had fallen. _Oh, just a wrench,_ he thought. Leaning down to pick it up, he accidentally hit his head on the side of the table. Muttering out a curse, he put the wrench back in its proper place and swiveled the chair around, staring tiredly at the door. _Might as well get up and make breakfast…_

Forcefully pushing the door open – “I really need to fix that,” he said to himself – a pile of dishes was the first thing to greet him, the kitchen unfortunately adjacent to the garage. Tails rolled his eyes. “Couldn’t even do his half of the chores, could he?” He looked around, but saw no sign of the speedster. A quick survey of the living room came up empty, as well. “Must have gone for a run, then.” He checked his watch, confirming that it was early morning. “I suppose I can do a few dishes, just enough to cook with…and when Sonic gets back I’ll make him do the rest.”

After he had eaten, he wandered into the living room, falling back on the couch and turning the television on. “News – black and white drama – more news – a stupid love story…and more news,” he mumbled, mindlessly flicking through the channels. He yawned, arching his back until it popped. Then something on the coffee table caught his eye. Tails reached over and picked it up. “Hmm…oh, isn’t this the book I dug out of the closet?” He started to close it, but then a single word in the open passage jumped out at him. He stared blankly at the word, trying to fully process what he had seen. He placed a finger underneath the sentence, eyes narrowing as he stared at it harder.

**_“Sonic?!”_ **

It was another average day for Amy Rose. She had woken up, dressed, made breakfast and was in the process of brushing her teeth when her phone rang loudly from the other room. “Ju’ a mnte!” she called out as she ran to answer. The caller ID identified it as Tails. _Strange,_ she thought, picking it up. _Why would he be calling? …Unless something happened at the workshop?! Or with Sonic!_ “Hello?” she asked. She blinked. “What? Sonic is missing? Wait, slow down – what do you _mean,_ his name is in a book? Are you sure?”

_“Yes, I’m sure, Amy,”_ the fox replied. _“I thought he had just gone out for a run this morning, like he always does, but then I saw his name in this thing. And it’s not just that, Amy…”_ he sounded genuinely scared. _“This whole story is about him and someone named Shahra.”_

“Are you sure it’s not just a story one of his fans made up?” she asked.

_“No, the book’s been sitting for ages in the back of the hall closet. I found it when I was cleaning a while ago and gave it to Sonic to read, but I still don’t know how…”_

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation,” she said. “I’ll be over soon and we’ll investigate it together.”

It was a quiet morning on Angel Island, just the way Knuckles liked it. He opened his eyes to see the fading stars above him, signaling that the day had started. The blissful peace soon shattered with the ring of a single object. He considered just ignoring it, but the incessant ringing crept into his mind continuously no matter how many times he willed himself to try to sleep. Eventually, he gave up and answered it.

“What do you want?”

_“Are you at the Master Emerald?”_ Tails’ frantic voice said. Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe…why do you ask?”

_“Don’t go anywhere, Amy and I are coming to you.”_

The echidna sat up, surprise lacing his features. “What? Why?”

_“I can’t explain right now. Just stay there, we’ll be over in five minutes.”_ The fox abruptly hung up, leaving Knuckles to stare at the phone in confusion.

Amy clutched the back of the pilot’s seat, straining her voice to be heard over the rush of wind. “How do we know that Knuckles will be able to help?”

“We don’t!” Tails yelled back. “But he has the Chaos emeralds – they might be able to tell us something!”

“Like what?”

“They’re keyed into Sonic’s energy signature, right? So Knuckles might be able to use them to tell where he is!” The wind now too loud to be properly heard, Amy leaned back in her seat as Angel Island came into view. _We’ll figure out what this means for sure,_ she thought, still somewhat confident in her previous notion that Sonic was just fine. 

Knuckles heard the plane before he saw it. He waited, arms crossed and an impatient frown on his face. As the wind calmed down a bit, the sound of propellers only grew louder.

He waited as it landed none too gently on the grass, the fox jumping out before it even had a chance to stop. He ran over, grasping an oversized book of some kind. “Thanks so much for agreeing to help – it – we – I _really_ don’t know what’s going on here and you have the Chaos emeralds and – !”

“Whoa, slow down,” he said. “Three things – why did you and Amy come here so suddenly? Why are you holding a book? What does any of this have to do with the emeralds?”

Tails took a deep breath. “This morning, I didn’t see Sonic anywhere. I didn’t think anything was wrong at first, because he usually leaves for a run in the morning. But then I saw his name in this book,” he gestured at what he was holding, “and when I read further it turned out the whole story was about him and a genie named Shahra.”

The echidna thought for a second, rubbing his chin. “Maybe it’s one of those fan things,” he said at last. “Sonic has plenty of them.” Tails shook his head.

“No, no,” he insisted. “This thing has been buried for a long time in the back of our closet, and I dug it out when I was cleaning and gave it to Sonic to read. So it **_couldn’t_** have been written by a fan! And that’s not even the strangest part.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Look.” The fox opened the book to where a page had been halfway folded. He tapped in the middle. “It ends only partway through the story! ‘ _Then the mighty djinn howled in pain, surely meaning his defeat as the blue hedgehog stood before him. ‘Your tale is over, Erazor! Next time, try writing a better story.’ “_

“It ends there!” the boy cried in frustration. “There’s nothing else! And it occurred to me on the way over here that maybe the book is trying to tell us something. Like where Sonic is. So I thought, if you could use the emeralds to see where – “

Knuckles held up his hands. “Okay, I get it. I’ll help.” _As much as I don’t want to…but this whole thing **is** a little suspicious. _He led the distressed duo back to the Master Emerald, pulling the other gems from a secret spot and arranging them in a semi circle as he sat before them, closing his eyes in concentration. After a bit, he opened them, doubt evident in his eyes. “He’s not here,” he said.

“What do you mean, he’s not here?” Amy interjected. “He has to be! Sonic has to be here somewhere?”

“He’s not, that’s the problem. The emeralds picked up his energy alright, but he’s not anywhere in this world.”

Amy gasped and Tails looked curious. “How?” he asked. Knuckles pointed at the book.

“He’s in there.”

Sonic was not having the best time. Erazor had been glaring at Tails – _no,_ _Ali,_ \- ever since he and Roshan had come back from their little discussion. The fox hadn’t seemed to notice, inhaling his _fesenjan_ like it was the last in the world. Roshan appeared to be in a pleasant mood, eating the meal in a much more casual manner. The hero tapped his fingers idly against the wood, stirring the spoon around in his bowl with the others. _Is this really my life now? Stuck living underground until I master my powers, then forced to give up my independence just for the whims of other people?_ He caught sight of the ring, gleaming softly in rhythm with the torches burning against the walls. _If only I’d never put you on…_ he thought, a chord of anger striking him.

“What’s the matter, Sonic?” a voice broke into his mind. “Do you not like the stew I prepared?”

He looked up to see Roshan peering at him with concern, the light from the torches reflecting just as brightly within their glasses. He shook his head. “No, it’s good. I just don’t have much of an appetite right now.”

Ali finally put down his bowl. “That was delicious. Thank you for making such a treat,” he said. Roshan waved it off.

“It was nothing. I simply felt like making it,” they said, gesturing at the wooden doll in the corner to come over.

“What do you desire me to do, master?” it asked.

“Clean the dishes,” they replied. The doll blinked once more and disappeared along with the bowls. Roshan then turned their attention back on Ali and Sonic. “I shall have your rooms made up soon. Until then, feel free to entertain yourselves with the games in the shop above.” They stood from the table and almost seemed to float out of the room, the long elegant robe never once betraying the sound or sight of their footsteps. Erazor moved after, eyes refusing to move off of Ali even as he went through the doorway.

Not wanting to be caught in an uncomfortable silence, Sonic attempted to make light conversation. “So, uh…a password, huh? That’s why the thieves were chasing you?”

Ali startled, as if he had been deep in thought. “Er…yes,” he replied reluctantly. “They discovered that I had been using the cave to provide my family with food and other things we needed to survive. The leader, Caspar…he hates me most of all.”

“Why?”

“Because…he killed my…my brother and then tried to attack me when I was sleeping. If it hadn’t been for my friend, he would still have his left eye right now. So he is hunting me out of revenge as well as for the treasure.”

Sonic felt a wave of emotion flood him. “You had a brother?” he whispered. The fox nodded.

“His name was Cassim…he didn’t like me very much either, and once he found out about the cave he tried to take all the gold and jewels for himself. But the thieves – they saw him near there, and they killed him. They’ve been chasing me ever since.”

The hedgehog looked away as Ali wiped away a few tears. _This definitely isn’t Tails,_ he thought, _no matter how much he looks like him._

In the next room over, Roshan and Erazor were having a staring contest. Rather, that is what Roshan _knew_ that’s what the djinn thought they were doing. In reality, he was merely throwing a fit, leaning against the wall with crossed arms and a deep scowl. “If you keep your face that way, it may very well become permanent,” they advised. “Not that it would be much different from how you usually look.”

Erazor growled. “I warn you to keep your mouth shut, or I could easily kill you.”

They scoffed. “And lose your most valuable seller? I don’t think so.”

“…Why did you insist on keeping the intruder?”

Roshan hummed quietly. “Because I liked him. He was bold and clever in a way, daring to sneak into my shop and spying on events most private. He is admirable in that way, and I do believe my student holds some hidden affection for him as well.”

“Basically, you can use him.”

“Indeed.”

The djinn almost chuckled at that. “You’re still the same as when we met all those years ago.”

“So are you. Though, I dare say, you have become a bit more aggressive as of late. Any particular reason for that?”

Erazor frowned and looked away, a small trickle of guilt creeping into his heart. _Shahra…_ He immediately banished the feeling, reminding himself that the past was pointless. “I wanted power, that is all. Unfortunately, the goal is taking longer than I expected. But I will reach it soon enough, you can be sure of that.”

“I see,” they said. Erazor turned to leave the room, looking back at them momentarily. 

“I shall prepare my own room for the night,” was all he said before departing. Roshan sighed. _I have yet to make up the other rooms…this is going to be a long night._ As they got to work, the sun slowly fell beyond the horizon and the deep of the dark night took over.

The moon soon illuminated the sky, outshining any stars that had hoped to come out tonight. The curved window was directly across from the bed, so Sonic could see every shadow that danced in the room. “Hey, Sonic?” a faint voice beside him spoke up.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“Did you think about it?”

“Think – “

“About letting me be your master, I mean.”

His mouth opened and closed as he struggled to find an answer. _No…I didn’t **want** to think about it…but it’s slowly becoming apparent that I don’t have much of a choice anymore. Still, this is **my** life! **My** freedom! Shouldn’t I get a say in those things? __Or…did I give all that up the second I put the ring on? …No…I can’t think like that. At least for the kid’s sake._ He nodded, though Ali couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I…I think I will. It’s better if it’s you, anyway, than someone I don’t know.” The fox gave an excited shout and sat up, accidentally kneeing Sonic in the side. Biting back a groan of pain, he managed to pull himself into an upright position. “What are you doing?”

Ali blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry! But I was just so happy…”

“Wait, you actually want to do it right now? Shouldn’t we wait until morning or something?” The boy twisted his tails in his hands, looking down. Were this any other situation, Sonic might have laughed at the sight. _Yet another thing he has in common with Tails._ ** _But this is your freedom he’s asking you to give up! Your life! You can’t throw it away , no matter what!_** The hedgehog growled inwardly. _Shut up, me. I’m doing this and it’s final._

“What if the thieves break into my room again and try to get me?” Ali asked quietly.

“Look, wish or no wish, no thief is gonna try to mess with you again. Not as long as I’m here,” the hero assured him. “But if it makes you feel better, we’ll do it right now.” He slid off the bed, moving to the middle of the room. Touching the ring carefully, he offered his right hand. Ali went to grab it, but then paused. “What?” Sonic asked after a bit.

The fox chewed his lip. “I don’t know how to do this.”

The speedster gaped at him. “What – wait, you…but…you know more about djinn and stuff in this world than I do! I thought you knew _something_!”

“No!” he yelled. “I’ve never actually met a djinn before. I heard stories of them growing up, and the elders always said they were real, but I had no idea I would ever see one in person!”

Sonic almost looked like he was on the verge of tears, but pulled himself back at the last minute. “What – “

“Of course neither of you know,” a new presence said. The two turned to look at the doorway, the stranger stepping closer to the light of the window. Ali’s eye twitched once he realized who it was. “It is something closely kept between master and djinn,” Erazor said, smirking. Ignoring an agitated cry from the fox, he focused on Sonic, who wore a similar expression. “I’d be willing to show you,” the man continued, “in exchange for only one favor.”

The hedgehog rolled his eyes. “That was weak, even for you.”

“…But yet I don’t see you refusing.” Before Sonic could reply, Ali decided for him. 

“Yes,” he said. “We’ll do the favor if you’ll show us.”

“Actually, I have no quarrel with you,” the djinn told him. “It is Sonic who must submit to it.” _Of_ _course it is._

“What’s the favor?” he asked through gritted teeth. Erazor merely grinned.

“Oh, nothing too hard. But when I am done being stuck here for your lessons, we will go our separate ways. Understand?” Without waiting for an acknowledgement, he went on. “And when that happens, I will resume my goal of ultimate power – and _you_ , hedgehog, will do nothing in any way to interfere. That is the favor I ask of you.”

“What makes you think I’d agree to that?”

“Because you have only gotten this far thanks to me,” the villain said. “I say that is debt enough to warrant a favor or two.” 

Ali stepped in again. “We agree to your terms.” Sonic gaped at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“What? No way! That guy will do anything to get what he wants! I can’t let that stand!” he cried. Ali looked over gravely.

“We have no choice.”

The hero gazed at him a moment further in shock. _He’s right, though…I’ve only made it this far thanks to the bad guy._ A jolt raced down his spine as something new – _something terrible –_ occurred to him. _Has my whole life been determined by the villain? I would never have met Tails if I hadn’t been fighting Eggman…or Amy, or even Knuckles. I wouldn’t have met any of them if it hadn’t been for the doctor._ A sick sense of dread overcame him.

“…Fine,” he groaned. “But only because Ali says so.” The djinn’s smirk returned, wider this time.

“Excellent. I knew you’d soon see things my way. Now then, as to _becoming_ the master – it is actually quite easy. All one has to do is to simply touch the ring or other object with the desire to have it for oneself.”

The two anthros looked at each other, one in surprise, the other in suspicion. “Really,” Sonic said, folding his arms. “That’s all?” The djinn nodded.

“Yes. Go on then, fox, give it a try.”

Ali reached out cautiously, fingers barely grazing the edge of the ring. “No,” Erazor interrupted, “it must be done with more power, or it will never work. Try it again.” The fox clenched his teeth in determination, curling his fingers tighter. The djinn nodded in satisfaction. “Yes, that’s exactly it. Now focus deeply and bring to the surface your desire. You want that ring, don’t you? You want to wear it yourself?” He nodded, eyes shut tightly.

A jerk of his shoulder brought him back to reality. Erazor had moved over behind him, watching with intensity at the sight before him. Ali quickly focused on the ring, gasping in astonishment as it was…glowing? Sonic felt another jolt go through him as he sensed the ring beginning to move off of him. An instinctual pang of sadness echoed in his mind, and he had to fight to keep Ali from taking it. Having noticed the hero’s inner turmoil by the way his fists repeatedly tightened, Erazor smiled to himself. _Attachment issues, rat? This happens to every djinn when they take their first master. Get used to it._

Ali soon had the ring in his palm, the glow it emitted brightly a few seconds before now only a dull pulse. Eventually, it faded altogether. “Look! I did it!” He spun around in joy, slipping the ring on once he stopped. He suddenly gave a sharp cry as it tightened around his finger. “Is this normal?” Erazor nodded.

“Yes, the contract has been sealed. Now rub it.” The boy did as asked, Sonic feeling an overwhelming urge to approach. _What? Where…is this coming from?_ “Now you may state your first wish.”

“…Sonic?”

“Yes, master?” _Oh god why did I say that? It’s like I’m not even in control of my mouth anymore!_

“Er…I wish that you would protect me from the thieves!”

Sonic felt _something_ – what, he wasn’t sure – vibrate through the air, into his very being. It crawled up into the back of his mind, and suddenly he had the feeling like he could do anything. But his eyes closed without his permission, and he could sense the presence of the thieves, despite them being nowhere near his location. In one second, he could feel it. Their minds snapped as fear came over them out of nowhere, a voice whispering in their head _to leave the two – tailed fox alone._

Then the feeling was gone, and he was in control of his body again.

Amy desperately needed water. She’d been standing for what felt like hours under the abnormally hot sun, while Tails and Knuckles debated the possibilities of Sonic _actually_ being in the book. “Ugh,” she muttered. “Sonic _so_ owes me when I bail him out.”

“Okay,” Tails said, putting the last emerald in place around the book. “If we focus the energy of the emeralds onto this page, we might be able to get through to Sonic somehow.”

“It could communicate with him, or at least react more to his energy since it’s in closer range,” Knuckles said.

“Exactly.”

Tails stood up, backing a couple feet away while the echidna placed himself in front of the book, closing his eyes and attempting to focus. _You can do this_ , the fox thought nervously, _because if you don’t, Sonic might be stuck in there forever._


	7. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tails and co journey into the book to save Sonic. It's a good thing, too, because it seems Sonic's been having second thoughts...

Knuckles waited impatiently – it seemed like he’d been doing that a lot today – as Tails arranged and rearranged the emeralds and read the page from top to bottom for what felt like the fiftieth time. “For crying out loud, Tails,” he said finally, resting his chin in his hands. “Just get on with whatever you’re trying to do _sometime_ before tomorrow."

“That’s what I’ve been doing!” He placed the book back down in front of the emeralds again. “But the first try didn’t work, and it has to be perfect if we want to reach Sonic!”

The echidna grumbled to himself. “Fine, I’ll give it another try. But don’t blame me if nothing happens!” He closed his eyes, _for the final time,_ he hoped, and focused on nothing but the Chaos emeralds. Channeling their energy was starting to get tiresome. He reached out, asking them once again to open up a pathway to communicate to the blue hedgehog. They refused, as they had before.

_You were able to find him,_ he told them. _Now I ask you to speak to him._

_We cannot._

_Why?_

_There is an unusual interference from within his world that does not match our own power. It is an ancient magic, one that has developed separate of our influence. We cannot access it._

_Then what can you do?_

The emeralds went silent for what felt like eternity. _We can absorb his world’s magic and reflect it back to open a portal. We have done it before._

_You have?_ Knuckles was surprised.

_Yes. When it was used on the planet._

_…I remember that._ Knuckles had just been waking up from his afternoon nap when he had felt the Master Emerald go dark. He remembered almost immediately panicking, only stopping to rationalize that it was somehow Sonic’s fault. Then the monster had appeared in the sky and he knew _for sure_ that it was all his fault.

_Do it._

The gems obeyed, a crackle of energy rippling outwards. They began to glow, the multitude of colors lighting up the book, which lit up as if in response – a blinding white in contrast to the softer colors of the emeralds.

“What’s going on?!” Tails yelled, raising his arms in an attempt to shield his face from the violent gusts of wind that were now circling the objects on the ground.

“The emeralds are opening a portal!” Knuckles shouted back.

“What?!”

“I said, the emeralds are – “

A tremor shook the ground, the two looking over to see Amy holding her hammer furiously against the earth. “No time for talking!” she shouted. “We have to get out of here before we’re all blown off the island!” She reached for Tails’ hand, fingers barely grabbing on when the fox was thrown backwards by a flying tree branch.

“Tails!” they screamed at the same time.

He managed to regain his footing despite the wind pushing him back further. “I’m okay!” Then his foot hit the edge of the book and the force of the wind made him lose his balance. He fell over, the light of the book swallowing him up until he was no more.

Roshan was perplexed – although they were glad that Sonic had exceeded their expectations by acquiring a master much faster than anticipated, they couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t progressing the same way when it came to the lessons. _He’s gotten the basics of levitation, which is good…but I suspect he is being distracted by something else. If he is to properly learn, that will not do. Perhaps I should add meditation to his work as well…_

They were pulled from their thoughts when they noticed Sonic walk in from the corner of their vision. Roshan shifted in the chair, facing him head on. “Good morning,” they greeted. “Are you hungry? I made _haleem._ ”

“No, not really.”

Roshan hummed. “Why don’t you sit down anyway, Sonic? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you.”

“Oh…okay,” he said, taking a seat besides them.

They folded their hands together as they stared intently at Sonic. “I do not normally care about what my student does outside of lessons, but it seems that there is something bothering you, which is affecting your performance. Do you wish to tell me what it is?”

Silence.

“If you do not tell me, I’m afraid your stay here must be canceled. I cannot teach you if you do not first clear your own issues.”

More silence.

“Do you not wish to learn how to use your powers?”

He let out a quiet sigh. “That’s the whole reason why I came here, isn’t it?”

Roshan leaned back, observing the hedgehog thoughtfully. “Did you only come here because Erazor made you, or did you come because mastering your abilities was what you _wanted_ to do?”

The continued silence told them all they needed to know.

They sighed, adjusting their glasses. “I see,” they said at last. “If that’s the case, then I imagine whatever is bothering you is also related to that, correct?”

A faint nod.

“What is it?”

“…How does someone get out of it?”

“Hmm? You mean being a djinn?”

“…Yeah.”

They adjusted their glasses again. “The only ways out of it are death or being wished to be free by one’s master.” Sonic visibly paled. 

“So…there’s – I’m…stuck like this forever?”

Roshan shook their head. “You could always have Ali wish for you to be free.”

“But the – the master has to _want_ to wish that, right?” A short hum indicated their agreement. “Then it wouldn’t work.”

“And why not?”

“Because…”

“You seem to not realize that the relationship between a master and djinn is a mutual one. The master is not the only one allowed to have desires. If you wish it to be so, simply let your friend know, and considering his nature, there is a very good chance he will do it.” Sonic seemed unsure of what to say to that, so Roshan leaned over and squeezed his shoulder gently. “Do not think too much about it for now, we have more lessons to attend to. Are you feeling well enough to focus?”

After a minute, Sonic nodded and Roshan gave a small smile. “Excellent. I suggest you eat something before you begin. You will need the energy.”

Elsewhere, a young fox was resting – or, at least, that’s what Farid thought he was doing. He looked up at the man towering next to him. “What luck, huh? We spend hours searching this stupid town and now we find the little brat practically at our doorstep.”

“Agreed,” the man said. “Let’s take him back to our temporary base. When he wakes up, we’ll get the password for sure!”

Farid lifted the fox in his arms. “Something about him seems off, though.”

“What’s that?”

“What happened to the clothes he was wearing?”

Caspar paused, turning around to look. He squinted against the bright midday sun. “Huh, you’re right. Still, it’s not important. Let’s just get him back to base.”

“Amy, you’ve been pacing in circles for the past hour,” Knuckles said, looking extremely annoyed. “Can you please stop? I get that you’re worried – I am too – but the emeralds need to recharge. Making that first portal took a lot out of them.”

She stopped and gestured at the book frantically. “Who knows where Tails went in there?! He could be hurt or in danger or - !”

**_“Amy,”_** the echidna warned. “Calm down, it’ll be okay. We just have to wait until the emeralds are at full power again.”

“But that could take forever!” she cried.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think I know that?”

A quiet laugh from behind caught their attention. Turning around, they saw a _very_ familiar bat leaning against the Master Emerald, elbow propped up to support her head. “I thought I’d come up here to keep you busy,” Rouge said, still laughing to herself, “but it seems like you beat me to it.”

Knuckles stared at her a moment, grumbling something about ‘not touching it’. “What happened to your work?”

“Eh,” she replied, stretching her arms over her head. “It was a slow day, so I decided to just leave. Communicator’s still on, though, in case I’m suddenly needed elsewhere.” She winked at the echidna. Deliberately ignoring his even redder face, she approached the objects on the ground. “What are you doing, anyway?” she asked.

“Trying to find a way into that book,” Amy said.

“…Huh?”

“Tails came to me this morning claiming that this _book_ had something to do with Sonic missing. I used the Chaos emeralds to find out he was in the book, and then I used them to open a portal, which Tails accidentally fell through. We’ve been waiting for them to recharge so we can open it again.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You do?”

“No.”

Rouge knelt down to get a closer look. She attempted to pick one of the gems up but her hand was immediately slapped away. “Don’t even think about it,” the echidna growled. She raised her hands in surrender.

“A girl can’t help friends in need these days?” she asked teasingly.

“The only helping you’ll be doing is helping yourself to them,” he muttered. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, please, I don’t do that. I can respect property.”

He mumbled something unintelligible. The bat flicked her ears, a smirk on her face. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Amy decided to step in before they wasted time arguing. Waving her hand to get their attention, she asked, “Are the emeralds almost at full power? We can’t spend any more time here.”

Knuckles glanced down at the emeralds, sensing that their power levels were almost ready. “Not quite, but they should have enough for one portal.”

Rouge held up a hand. “Wait, are you going **_inside_** the book?!”

“Yep. We’ve got to rescue Tails and Sonic,” Amy replied, holding her hammer aloft. “It’s the only way.”

The emeralds glowed again, the book lighting up in answer and strong winds attacking them at every turn. “Is this how they open portals?” Rouge yelled.

**_“Yes!”_** two voices rang out.

Gems and page continued to glow, the latter increasing in intensity. “The portal’s open now!” Knuckles shouted. “Go!” Amy and Rouge crawled their way forward, desperately pushing themselves against the force of the wind.

“Rouge, you’re closer!” Amy cried out. “I’ll go in after you!” The bat didn’t have a chance to process this as she was suddenly shoved towards the book, the light grabbing at her and pulling her in. She inched along on her elbows and knees, casting one last look at Knuckles before diving in. Her first thought was that it was warm. She appeared to be floating in some kind of bright yellow void, but she did not see the others. “Hello?” she called out. “Rouge? Knuckles? Anyone?”

There was no chance for an answer as everything suddenly went black.

Sonic was exhausted. There was no better word for it. _Anyone would be, after being forced to train for six hours straight,_ he thought, collapsing face first on the bed and closing his eyes. _At least I’ve mastered invisibility now…_ was his final thought before the sound of a door opening and creaking boards interrupted his attempt to sleep. He cracked an eye open, watching as Ali made his way around to his side of the bed.

“Roshan was pretty tough on you today, huh?” the fox asked.

“Sure was.”

Ali twisted the edge of the blanket, looking over at Sonic. “What did being invisible feel like?”

It took the hedgehog a bit to process the question. _Uh…_ “Well, it felt weird,” he finally said. That didn’t seem to satisfy the fox.

“But what did it really feel like? Could you go through walls? Could you _see_ through walls?”

“No…”

“Then did – “

Sonic groaned, lifting himself up on his elbows. “Look,” he said. “I’ve had a really long day, and I’m tired, and I just want to get to sleep, okay? I promise I’ll answer all the questions in the morning.” The fox gave a small nod.

“Okay, then,” he whispered. “Good night.”

Sonic managed to keep himself awake long enough to get up and pull the covers back, sliding into its warmth quickly. Then he was out like a light.


	8. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy and Tails finally meet up with Sonic. In other news, Ali receives some disturbing information...

“I think he’s waking up.”

“Good.”

Tired eyes blinked open, not quite processing what they were seeing. In front of him sat two men with overtly eager expressions. He tried to lift his hands, but felt the coldness of metal around them instead.

“Don’t even try, brat,” one of the men said gruffly. “The chain’s bolted to the floor.”

He instantly snapped back to life at those words. “Where am I? And who are you?” he demanded.

“Don’t play dumb with us, brat,” the taller of the two growled. “What’s the password?”

“What password? What are you even talking about?” Tails asked.

“You know exactly what we’re talking about,” the taller one replied. “The password to the cave with all the treasure you’ve been keeping from us!” The fox just blinked at them.

“I don’t know anything about a cave! I fell through the portal and then I was in the air, and then the next thing I know I’m in some room with two strangers!”

“I think the heat might’ve fried his memory,” the shorter man whispered. The taller nodded. “Should we just come back later?”

“Yes,” the other said. “It’s noon anyway.” He jabbed a finger at the fox. “Don’t try to escape while we’re gone. Not that you could, though.”

“How could I?” the boy replied innocently. “I don’t have the key.” That answer seemed to satisfy the men, as they left without even a hint of suspicion. The second they were gone, the fox carefully pinched his glove until he found it, then started to shake it out.

“Who says you need keys to open locks?” he said to himself as he wriggled the bobby pin through the hole. Dropping the cuffs to the floor, he wasted no time in making his way to the door, pressing an ear against it to listen. When he heard nothing, he opened it. _Not even locked. How dense are those guys?_

It didn’t take long for him to find the exit, and he made his escape. Using his hand to block out the sun, he took in his surroundings. _I seem to be in some back alley, but I can see a few storefronts down to the left. Maybe they can tell me where I am._ He ran over, seeing that only one was currently open. Nobody appeared to be inside except for a man hunched over a table, writing something in a frenzy. He pushed the door open, the sound making the man look up.

“Ah, a customer! How wonderful!” he said. “Is there anything in particular in this fine shop you want?”

Tails looked around, noting the various pieces of pottery and glassware. “No, sorry. I just wanted to know if you could tell me where I am.”

“Oh, are you also a traveler? In that case, may I interest you in these especially unique items?” the man asked.

“No, I just want to know where I am.”

“Ah, of course! This is Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire!”

_Persepolis? I’ve never heard of that…_ “Okay, thank you!” the fox called as he left the shop. Shielding his eyes again from the sun, he debated his next plan of action.

Amy’s head hurt. No, that was wrong – her whole _body_ hurt. She was laying facedown on something hard, she could tell that much. She pushed her hands against the ground, temporarily using them as support despite how sore they felt, and pulled herself onto her knees. “What the heck happened?” she muttered, rubbing her head.

“Are you alright, miss?”

“Huh?” she asked, looking up. A woman stood over her, holding a hand down. Amy took it and stood up, wincing at the painful soreness in her legs.

“What were you doing in the street?” the stranger asked.

Amy rubbed her head again. “I don’t know. The last thing I remember was a void…”. Her eyes widened. “Oh no!” She spun around. “Sorry, I gotta go. My friends are still out there.” Dashing down the street, she failed to hear the woman’s concerned shouts. Stores and people passed by in a blur, though Amy paid them no mind. She couldn’t afford to lose her focus now.

Ali lounged on the sofa, watching the duo in front of him with a curious eye.

“Do it again,” Roshan commanded, staring expectantly at the blue hedgehog. “You will not learn it by only doing it once. Repetition is perfection.”

Sonic sighed. “We’ve been doing this for two hours already, can’t we just take a break?”

“No.”

The wooden doll shuffled into the room at that moment, relieving a grateful hedgehog. “Master, there is a customer in the shop above. She is requesting information.”

Roshan hummed. “Very well.” They addressed the fox abruptly, startling him. “Ali, watch over him until I return.”

“Er…alright,” he replied.

Sonic collapsed onto the seat next to him, letting out a long breath. “I thought those lessons would never end!”

“Roshan just wants you to get good at them,” the fox said. “But I get it – when I was in school I’d always get stuck with the worst of the teachers, somehow.”

“You went to school?”

“Yes, until I had to leave and go to work to help my parents support the rest of the family.”

“Oh…but you were the youngest, right? Shouldn’t your brother have been the one working?”

Ali shook his head. “No, as soon as he came of age he ran off to marry into a wealthy family. The only times we saw him after that were during Nowruz.”

“No…what?”

He gave the other a strange look. “The new year. You’ve never celebrated it?”

“Not really…I mean, I have, but I’ve never heard anyone call it that before.”

“…Are you from overseas, then? Everyone around here calls it Nowruz,” Ali inquired.

“I guess you could say that?”

Ali seemed puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you see…I’m not actually from this world.”

It took the fox several seconds to comprehend that. “So, you’re from…”

Sonic took a deep breath. “This world is inside of a book. I’m – I’m from the world **_outside_** of it.”

The room went quiet for an agonizing eternity.

“That’s not possible,” Ali said at last.

“But it is.”

“No – “

“What is not possible? I am most certain it is,” a voice spoke from the doorway. Roshan stepped further into the room, arms full of vials.

“Sonic just told me that this world is actually a book!” Ali said.

Their eyes flicked over to the hedgehog. “Hmm, perhaps it is,” they replied, setting the vials down on the rug.

Ali started to look upset. “But that’s not possible!”

“What are you doing with all those, anyway?” Sonic asked.

“Sorting and placement. A new shipment comes in every week,” they said.

“What’s in them?”

“Various spells – truth, love, illusions. My customers want many things and I must always be prepared.”

Sonic was vaguely interested. “Is that what the customer upstairs wanted?”

“Oh, no, she merely wanted information. It seemed that she was a bit lost,” Roshan replied. “Most travelers that come into my shop usually do – though, I must say, I have never seen a traveler with such strange clothing as her.”

“Strange clothing?”

“Indeed. Her shoes were particularly unusual.” The hedgehog leaned forward, interest piqued even more.

“Could she have been from overseas?”

“It is certainly possible,” they agreed, setting the last vial into a row. “I suppose pink is in vogue over there right now.”

“…Pink?”

“Yes. It is an unnatural hair color, but the elites do have rather strange tastes.”

Sonic froze. _Pink hair? Then **she’s** here._ He stood up, racing out of the living room and to the ladder. He pushed up the floorboard only to see that the shop was empty. “Roshan, did you see what direction she went?” he yelled down.

They appeared just at the edge of his vision. “If you are looking for her, it is best to check the square. It is left, at the end of the street. If she is anywhere in this city, it is there she will be.”

_I am so lost,_ Tails thought, wandering through the alleyway that he swore he had went down five times before. _Why did they –_

“Tails!”

_Wait, what?_

“Amy?”

She gripped his shoulders from behind, spinning him around to face her. “I’m so glad you’re safe! After you fell through the portal – “

He hugged her back. “I’m glad you’re safe too.”

“Have you found Sonic yet?” she asked. He shook his head.

“I’ve been lost in this maze for a while, I have no idea how to get out,” he replied. She sighed.

“You know, I think I passed the way out back there,” she said, gesturing to a point behind her. “If the portal took us to this city, then it must mean that Sonic is here somewhere.” They took off, the dimming sun casting their long shadows against the wall. “Tails, look!” Amy cried out. “I see people at the end!” The two increased their speed until they burst out of the alley, nearly running straight into some passersby. “Sorry!” she yelled, moving past them and through the crowd.

Both quickly came to a stop when they ran into the very center of the square, trying to catch their breath. Footsteps sounded from somewhere off to their left. Amy raised her head a little, noticing the legs first.

They were blue.

She straightened, looking them in the face. “S – “

_“Amy,”_ he said, sounding extremely relieved. “Tails…”. Then curiosity set in. “How did you guys even get here?”

“After Tails noticed you were missing, he called me and Knuckles and had the Chaos emeralds open a portal into the book. But we all ended up in separate places – I only just found Tails a few minutes ago.”

“Are you okay, Sonic?” the fox asked, moving beside Amy. “How did you get in here?”

“Eh, funny story actually,” he said.

“Did it have anything to do with a genie named Shahra?”

The hedgehog paused, taken aback. “…How did you know?”

“When I read the book, one of the stories was about you and her fighting someone named Erazor.”

“It – it was?”

Tails nodded. “It said that she summoned you to help her stop him from taking over this world.”

“…Well, yeah, pretty much,” he said.

“But the story stopped halfway through, after you defeated him. What happened?” the boy asked.

“Well, I did do that, and…uh…stuff happened, that’s all.” He started to move away, swinging his arms casually at his sides. “I guess now that you’re here, we should be heading back.”

“Back to where?” Amy said, already following him. He glanced over his shoulder.

“There’s been some people I’ve been staying with, I guess,” he told her. “A couple of them…just don’t freak out too much when you meet them, okay?” He cut his eyes over to Tails at the last few words. She copied his action, unsure by what he meant.

“Okay, but why?” she asked again.

“…You’ll see when we get there.”

They followed him in silence after that, the same question in their minds. _What has Sonic been doing this whole time?_


	9. Khwaja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the calm before the storm.

Amy had been down this street before. _It’s the one I woke up on…and I’m pretty sure I passed that restaurant down there when I was running._ A third thought came up in her mind, but she chose to voice it aloud. “Do the people you’ve been staying with live near here?”

Sonic pointed towards a shop sign a couple feet away. “Yeah, they – “

“Wait,” Amy said, staring up at it. “This is the same shop I was just in.”

“I know,” he replied. “How do you think I found you so soon?”

“You mean to tell me that I was **_right there_**?! With _you_? And I didn’t even know?!” she shrieked.

“The whole house is underground,” he said. “It’s actually kind of cool.”

She hovered in the doorway, looking around. “Where’s the trapdoor, then?” He lifted a board in the middle of the room.

“Right here.”

A ladder had been set underneath, leading down into a small curved area that reflected a rather warm light coming from places unseen. Tails followed after Sonic, desperately leaning back to try and see what was down there. Amy came last, making sure to put the entrance back in place.

“So who else lives down here with you?” Tails asked.

“Uh, just a few people.” He raised a hand for them to stop. “Before you come in, there’s someone I gotta talk to first. So, just wait right there, okay?” He disappeared in a flash around the corner before they could respond.

The two waited in silence for a moment. “What do you think he had to talk to them about?” Tails asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe he had to tell them he was leaving?” Amy suggested.

Sonic peeked back around, motioning for them to come out. “Everyone should be ready now,” was all he said as he lead them down the hallway and through a couple of rooms. Amy shared a quick look with Tails. “They’re – I mean, _most_ of them are pretty nice,” he assured them. “Ro – “

The door swung open, all three jumping back to avoid getting hit. A tall robed figure stood in the entrance, thick oversized glasses perched on the edge of their nose. “I had a sense someone was speaking of me,” they said, “and it appears that I was right. Are these the friends you told us of?” Sonic nodded.

“Yep, this is Amy and Tails.”

They focused their gaze on Amy. “We meet again,” they simply said before turning their attention to Tails, amusement lighting up their eyes after several seconds. 

“My name is Roshan,” they said, holding out a hand. “It seems that fate is in a good mood today.”

“What does that mean?”

They ignored the question. “Come inside, all of you. I have _sekanjabin_.”

“What’s that?” she whispered to Sonic as they were led inside. He shrugged.

“They have a bunch of things I’ve never heard of before,” he said. “They call the new year Nowruz, too.”

She considered that. “It makes sense, though. This is a whole different world with its own history, of course it would have stuff we’ve never heard of.” A gleam of excitement entered her eyes. “Oh, I wonder if they have any good – “. Then she stopped, getting a clear look at the room.

There was a ghost in it.

It didn’t appear to be doing anything malicious, just simply sitting on the sofa watching them. _Wait,_ Amy realized, _it has blue eyes._ Blinking at her from two jaggedly ripped holes, in fact. Then a white glove stuck out from under the sheet, waving. “Hello. I’m Ali.”

“I’m Amy, and this is Tails,” she said. “Why are you wearing a sheet?”

“I don’t know, Sonic just came in and threw it over me.” They looked at him accusingly.

He laughed, a bit nervous. “I had a good reason!”

“Why do you look like me, though?”

“…Say that again?”

Ali yanked the sheet off, revealing ruffled yellow fur. He pointed at Tails. “Why do you look like me?”

The tensed silence was almost painful. Slowly, Tails turned his head towards Sonic, a myriad of emotions on his face. “There is another me in this book, and you tried to hide it?!”

“No, of course not!” he cried. “I just didn’t want to…freak you guys out too much, that’s all.”

Tails crossed his arms. “I’m not the one you should be worried about freaking out.” He pointed at the other fox, who had fallen back on the sofa and was looking like he was on the verge of tears. “How did you even meet him, anyway?”

“Well, he kind of ran into me. Then I saved him from some thieves…and he also followed me here.”

“Did you say thieves?”

He nodded. “Wait, did you already run into them?”

“They kind of captured me after I came here, but their security system was astoundingly incompetent. Not even Eggman would do such a lousy job.” Sonic laughed.

Ali took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He had been watching the others quietly for a while, especially his double, and he could tell that they were all rather close friends. _If they’re here, that that might mean Sonic will want to leave to be with them instead. …He’s known them longer, after all. And…_

“Is it true, then?” he asked, knowing right away that was a mistake. Everyone’s eyes were on him, towering over him just to show him how small he really was.

“What’s true?” one of them asked. He took another deep breath.

“Are we really inside of a book right now?” They looked at each other, the low lighting in the room casting deepened shadows on their faces. He started to feel sick and curled his knees into his chest, hugging them tighter.

Amy was the first to answer. “Yeah…does that bother you? You don’t look too good right now.”

_I’m not. I’m sick and this is all wrong and is this real? Am I real? Was I just made up by someone else? You guys are the only real ones, right? Is that why you’re here? Because you made me up?_ “I…I think I just had a bad lunch, is all,” he mumbled, unable to look them in the eye any longer.

Someone else started to say something, and someone else left the room, but he could no longer understand any of it.

Tails knew **_something_** was wrong. He knew that no version of him – not even a version inside of a magical book – would have that kind of reaction to seeing his friends. He said as much to Sonic, whom to his surprise immediately disagreed with him.

“Because he’s not you,” Sonic said. “He just happens to _look_ like you.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No. Because Ali has parents, and he went to school until he had to work, and in the time I’ve known him he hasn’t shown the slightest interest in inventing. He might look like you, but he is a completely different person.”

The two of them were in the living room, clearing out some of the furniture to make way for his and Amy’s spare bed. “I guess so,” Tails said at last, setting the last of the pillows on it. He was quiet for a bit as he debated how to best voice his next question. “Hey, Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you here, anyway? I don’t think you said.”

“Uh…well, I just needed a place to stay while I was here, and they offered it. That’s all.”

“He is here to train,” Roshan spoke from behind them. Tails spun around in surprise as Sonic went still.

The fox stood up, stepping around the mattress. “Training for what?”

Before Roshan could answer, Sonic suddenly sprung into action, moving between them. “Hey, I’m gonna go check on Amy and the others. You should probably let Tails go to bed, it’s late.” He dashed out of the room.

“…What was that all about?” he wondered.

“Perhaps he still has some emotional issues to overcome,” Roshan said. They left soon after, with Tails still no less uncertain that something was wrong.

_Sometimes,_ Knuckles thought, _I wish I had friends who leave me alone and never come over._ He leaned against the wall, watching the few remaining citizens rush past him in a hurry to get home. The stars twinkled overhead, looking exactly the same as the ones over Angel Island.

_I knew I shouldn’t have answered the phone this morning…_

He heard the rise and fall of brisk footsteps to his right and tensed up. A hand fell on his shoulder. His eyes moved up to land on a couple of men of wildly varying heights, the shorter grinning at him maliciously. “What do you want?” he asked, shrugging the hand off. “I’m really not in the mood to get into a fight with you.”

“Not looking for a fight with you,” the taller one said. “We’ve been trying to find a little brat all day – you seen him? Short, has yellow fur?”

_Tails?_

“Why are you looking for him?” Knuckles made a fist, already preparing himself for a direct hit.

“He has something we want, see,” the shorter one said.

“Yes,” the taller agreed. “We just want to ask him for it, is all. You sure you haven’t seen him anywhere?”

Knuckles shook his head. “I haven’t seen anyone matching that description. Although, I did see something else that was more interesting.” The men got closer, curious.

“What’s that?”

**_“This!”_ **

A solid blow to the jaw had the taller of the two reeling backwards, the shorter looking on in shock before Knuckles pulled back and aimed right for his nose. He fell against the wall, cursing loudly. He managed to push himself away and stagger over to the other on the ground, trying to pick him up. “We’ll be back for you,” one of them growled as they disappeared into the darkness. “Once we find that fox, you’ll be next!”

“Don’t count on it!” Knuckles shouted. Once he was sure they were gone, he wandered further into the square. He stared up at the sky, wishing he was still back on Angel Island. “If they’re looking for Tails, then he must be in this city somewhere.” He stifled a yawn. “At least they made my job easier.” With that, he set off into the night. 

_I’ll be sure to find him before they do._


	10. Sweet Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is revealed, and Sonic sets off on his own.

Tails didn’t know if it was luck or fate that had him sitting directly across from Ali at the table, but whatever it was he was glad for it, for it allowed him to discreetly watch the other. He knew there was something that Sonic wasn’t telling him, and he was determined to figure out what it was. The conversation between the rest of the occupants, as far as he could tell, was only pleasant chatter. He dutifully ignored it, eating his food in silence as he kept a close eye on his double.

_Whatever is going on, it has something to do with **him**_ , he thought. _For some reason Sonic didn’t want us to see him, but the question is why?_ A sudden motion from Ali’s hand snapped him out of his thoughts. Then he saw it, the low light from the torches reflecting against it. He studied it for a moment, curiosity rising. _I don’t remember seeing that ring last night, but I also wasn’t paying that close attention. I wonder if…_ . He cast a subtle glance over at Sonic, who was currently talking to Roshan.

“Hey, Sonic?”

The speedster turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“Do you know anything about that ring?” He pointed at Ali, who immediately attempted to slide underneath the table.

“Uh…no…I think Ali was wearing it when I first met him, yeah,” he said, suddenly making it a point to stare down at his food.

The fox in question pulled himself back onto his seat with a confused expression. “But you – “

**“Anyway,”** Sonic loudly interrupted, “we should just finish eating. Don’t want the food to get cold, right?” He stuffed a loaf of bread in his mouth to keep from saying anything else.

The others were quiet, having varying reactions. Roshan seemed to be vaguely amused, while Amy looked like she was torn between worry and confusion, and Ali tried to hide underneath the table again. 

“Sonic.”

The hero lowered his head. He reached for the basket of bread, but Tails leaned over and pulled it away.

“We need to talk about this.”

“…Talk about what? There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Then why have you been acting so weird?” the fox demanded. “What does the ring have to do with it?”

“I – I don’t – it’s _nothing,_ okay?” Without warning, he pushed back from the table and was gone in a flash. The tension became unbearable in his absence.

Amy looked at Tails. “You shouldn’t have pushed him like that.”

“What was I supposed to do? Pretend like he _wasn’t_ hiding something? I just wanted to know what it was!”

“Then ask him like a normal person, not pressure him in front of everyone at the table!”

“He wouldn’t have answered truthfully that way **_and you know it!”_**

“So what? It’s not our business!” she screamed, standing up and slamming her fists against the table. “If Sonic wanted us to know then he would tell us! It’s not our place to go through his private life! You of all people should know that!”

“Stop acting like you know what’s best for Sonic!” he screamed back. “You don’t know him like I do!”

“But you can’t even figure it out!”

**_“What?!”_ **

“You wouldn’t like it if someone treated you that way, would you?” she asked. “So then why do it to him?”

He faltered, slowly beginning to calm down as he thought it over. Then he sighed. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I…shouldn’t have done it in that way. I’m gonna go apologize to him.” As he walked past them to the door, a hand shot out and gripped his arm tightly.

“Don’t go yet,” Ali said. “There _is_ something about the ring that I should tell you.”

Tails turned back, intrigued.

“What is it?” he asked.

Ali took a deep breath and began.

-

“Okay,” Knuckles said to nobody in particular. “I’m officially lost.” He had been wandering through the city since last evening and had passed through the town square at least five times, the same square in which he was currently resting. “I haven’t seen Tails anywhere, either,” he muttered. _Those guys from last night must’ve taken him._ He growled in frustration. _I should’ve followed them, damn it!_

A flash of pink moved just out of his sight. His eyes widened. _…Amy?_ Not wasting another second, he took off after it.

_It is her,_ he thought with relief. “Amy!” She turned around. 

“Knuckles?” she questioned. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I landed here after I came through the portal.”

“Oh, right.”

He looked around, but saw no sign of the fox. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen Tails, would you? There were a couple of guys last night asking for him.”

She blinked. “Oh, I found him yesterday. We’ve been staying with Sonic.”

“You found Sonic already?” he asked in shock. She nodded.

“How weird is it that we all happened to land in the same place?” She didn’t respond, instead staring at the wall with a dazed look.

“…Amy?” No response. “Amy.” She continued to stare at nothing, and he soon grew annoyed. Snapping a couple fingers in her face, she startled back to reality. “What the heck was that?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, Knuckles. I was just thinking.”

“What could have possibly been so interesting that you just zoned out?”

Amy fiddled with the hem of her dress. “It’s something one of his friends said earlier.”

_Sonic has friends here?_ “What did they say?” he asked.

“…What do you know about djinn?”

**-**

“Sonic?” Tails asked. No answer. He knocked again softly. “Sonic, I’m sorry for earlier. Can you let me in, please?”

Silence. He sighed. “I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. It was stupid of me. Whatever you’re hiding, I’m sure you can tell us in your own time.”

He was about to leave when he heard the telltale creak of the door opening slightly. Sonic stood before him, eyes strangely red. “Were you crying?” the fox asked. The hedgehog shook his head.

“No,” he said. “You don’t have to apologize, by the way. I know you didn’t mean any harm by it.”

Tails protested. “But I did, and I just wanted to make sure you were still okay.”

“I am,” he replied. He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door. “Do you want to go back to the dining room, or just hang out in the town?”

He thought about it. “The town sounds good.” Sonic smiled, albeit weakly.

“Then let’s go.”

“Going where?” someone asked from behind them.

Sonic resisted the urge to groan. “Just out on the town,” he said. “Why do you want to know?” _Right when I was starting to cheer up, he **had** to show his face._

Erazor was also feeling the same way. _The sooner he gets out of my sight, the better._ “It was getting a bit stuffy in the lamp, so I was on my way out for a while. Since you happen to be going the same way, I might as well follow you. But I will be leaving immediately after.”

“Fine,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Wait, what do you mean – in your lamp? You can go inside?” The djinn crossed his arms.

“Your lack of knowledge about your own – “

“Hey, watch it,” Sonic warned, glaring at him.

“What is it now, rat?”

Tails placed a hand on the hedgehog’s shoulder. “I already know, Sonic.” The speedster glanced at him.

“You do?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Ali told us everything.”

“…Us?” The fox realized his mistake. _Oops._

The boy tried to backpedal. “Well, uh, it was really only just Amy and me who didn’t know. It’s not like he announced it to the whole world. It’s okay, really.” He cast a hopefully casual grin up at the hero, who seemed to relax a bit and grinned back.

Sonic turned his attention back to the other djinn. “So what’s this about going inside a lamp?”

“All djinn are capable of this,” the man said. “Whether it be a lamp, a ring, a bottle, or something else. We can create a world inside of it as well – we call it _muqaddas jagah_ , or our holy place. A sanctuary of sorts, if you will.”

“How can I learn it, then?”

“It is a far more advanced skill than you are ready for,” he replied. “You have only just begun your training. On one’s own, it can take up to five years to learn properly.”

“How long with help?” Sonic asked.

“It depends on the individual,” he said.

The eagerness the hero had felt earlier started to diminish, but he pressed on. “And I don’t suppose you’re willing?”

“Not a chance.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I figured as much. I’ll go ask Roshan about it.” Tails watched him speed away until he realized that the two of them were suddenly alone.

“Uh, you know…” he said, backing up slowly, “I kind of left breakfast early so I’m going back to eat…bye!”

-

Sonic ran into the living room, surprising Roshan who had just sat down with a cup of tea. “Is there something you need?” they asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I wanted to know if you could teach me something specific.” 

They raised an eyebrow, interest piqued as they calmly sipped at their drink. “What specific thing is that?” they inquired.

“I – well, Erazor said that a djinn could enter their lamp? Or their ring? And I just wanted to know if you…could…”

Roshan laughed a bit. “I see,” they said, setting the tea down on the table. “As pleasing as it is to see you take an active interest in your lessons, I am afraid that this is one of the things I possess no knowledge on.”

“Oh.”

They hummed, gesturing for Sonic to sit beside them. “That does not mean that it is beyond you, however. It is most certainly possible that a djinn out there will teach it to you.”

“Erazor said it was one of the more advanced skills, though,” he said. “What if I can’t learn it?”

“Erazor says a lot of things,” they replied. “Not all of it means something.”

“Heh, you’re right…still, it’s okay to leave, though? I thought we – “

Roshan shook their head. “You can only learn so much from me,” they told him. Sonic tried to speak again but was immediately silenced. “I am not a djinn, and all of which I have taught you has come merely from years of observation, which is a poor substitute for the real thing.”

He still looked unsure. “But what about Amy, and Tails? Are you going to let them stay with you?”

“Yes. But now that they are no longer staying here on your behalf, compensation will be needed.”

“What?”

Roshan hummed again. “They will need to work if they expect a place to stay.”

“What, so you’re…hiring them?”

“Indeed.”

Seeing the hesitation on his face, Roshan continued. “They will simply help with the shop – sorting and stacking items and whatnot, as well as helping customers. They will be safe, I assure you.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” He slid off the sofa, giving Roshan a quick grin. “Thanks for looking out for them, I appreciate it.” They nodded in agreement.

Ali moved further back into the kitchen, running out into the hallway once he heard Sonic’s footsteps approaching. He dashed into their room, jumping on the bed and trying to look like he had already been there when the other walked in.

“Hi,” he said in an attempt to be casual.

“Hey,” Sonic replied. “I already know you were listening in on us.”

“What – no, I was in here the whole time.”

He pointed at the twin tails. “Those give you away every time.”

Ali cursed. _Damn it…_

“So, where are you going?” he asked, hoping to distract from the fact that he got caught.

“There’s some stuff I gotta learn, and Roshan can’t teach me, and Erazor…well, you know how he is.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Just…stuff,” Sonic said, growing slightly uncomfortable. “You know…magic stuff.”

“You mean, with your powers?”

He didn’t say anything. Ali got a bit nervous, twisting his tails in his hands. “Sonic? Are you okay?”

Silence.

“Sonic?”

It almost seemed like the hedgehog had become a statue, he didn’t do so much as blink for what felt like an eternity. Ali tried again. “Sonic, what’s wrong? Was it something I said?”

“Sorry,” he said at last. “Still kind of getting used to all this.”

“Er, okay…”

Ali moved to follow Sonic as he left the room. He looked back at the fox in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you,” he replied as if it were obvious. Sonic shook his head.

“No, you’re not.”

“But I have to!”

“Why?”

“Because,” Ali held up the hand with the ring on it, “I’m your master – “ Sonic flinched at the word “ = and you have to protect me from the thieves, remember?” The speedster fell silent again, but then motioned for him to follow as he passed through the door.

-

Knuckles sat on the edge of the wall, staring up at the sky as he reflected on what Amy had told him earlier. _So Sonic’s a djinn now or something? Still not sure what that means, but it didn’t sound good. Amy almost made it out like he was stuck here._ He looked back down towards the square, watching the citizens move back and forth as they went about their shopping and eating. Amy was halfway across from him, talking to a merchant.

Suddenly, a voice rang out to his left. “Knuckles, you’re here too?” He turned his head to see none other than the blue hedgehog, who had someone hiding behind him.

“I am,” he responded, getting down off the wall.

“It’s good to see you,” Sonic said and stepped aside to reveal a scared looking fox. “This is Ali. I know what you’re going to say, but he is _completely_ different from Tails. Despite the fact that he has two of them.” He pushed the boy forward a little. “You don’t have to be so shy, this guy here’s a friend.”

_You wish._

“Why is it that every time I see you, you’ve gotten yourself into some kind of trouble?”

“Heh…natural talent?”

“Really,” he frowned. “And what’s this I hear about you turning into a djinn? I don’t even know what that is.” As he waited, he couldn’t help but think that something was off about the hero. _I’ve never seen him look this desolate. Was Amy right? Is he actually stuck here?_

The not – Tails chose to cut in at that moment. “A djinn is a magical being, born of smokeless fire, that exists between man and angel. They are bound to magical objects and can grant wishes when someone becomes their master.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” the boy said. “In the beginning, three species were created. Angels are of light, djinn of fire, and man of earth.”

“So…” he looked at Sonic, still lifeless and staring at the ground. “Anyone can become a djinn, is that right?”

Ali nodded.

“Is that how you met Sonic?”

“No, he actually saved me from some thieves a few days ago and then granted my wish to protect me from them. I don’t know anything else…although there is this other guy who’s staying with us, who is also a djinn. He doesn’t like Sonic very much.”

“So, he was a djinn when you met him?”

“Yes.”

A quiet mutter from the despondent hedgehog drew their focus. “I haven’t been one for very long.”

Knuckles folded his arms, walking closer to him. “How did it happen?” The hero took in a deep breath and then exhaled, finally looking up.

“It…must’ve happened after Shahra died,” he whispered. “While I was fighting Erazor. I didn’t even know until he told me.”

“Wait, is that who’s been staying with you?”

Ali broke in again. “Yes, he said he was there to have a friend train Sonic in his powers.” Knuckles stared at Sonic in disbelief.

“What you’re telling me is that not only did you not defeat this Erazor, but went with him? And you’re living with him?” He shook his head. “If you ever do that with Eggman, I no longer know you.”

“There wasn’t much I could do, okay?!” Sonic yelled suddenly. Knuckles and Ali took a step back in surprise as he continued. “I couldn’t even try to wish him into the lamp because apparently, djinn can’t do that to each other! It’s not like I had a choice!”

“So then why not just do it some other way? Like destroying the lamp he’s bound to? Wouldn’t that get rid of him?"

Sonic took in another deep breath, eyes glistening like he was about to cry. He quickly covered it. “I don’t know, okay? There’s too much I don’t know and that’s why I’m here! All I can do is just keep an eye on Erazor until he leaves.”

“What?”

“He wanted us to go our own ways after I was done and that I couldn’t interfere with his goals anymore.”

Knuckles held his breath and counted to ten slowly. _I am calm. I am totally calm. There is nothing wrong. I’m c –_

A sudden uppercut knocked Sonic backwards, the hero almost ending up on the ground. The echidna grabbed his arm and yanked down, growling. “It’s bad enough that you couldn’t defeat him, but now you’ve gone and said it was **_okay_** for him to walk away and continue his plans undisturbed!?”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Sonic protested weakly, wincing at the stabbing pain shooting through his arm. “It was the only way he would show us how to get the ring off!”

Knuckles growled again and shoved him back. “Whatever,” he said. The three were quiet for a couple minutes before he heard Sonic tell Ali it was time to leave. He tried not to acknowledge the pang of hurt he felt as he listened to their receding footsteps.

The echidna turned and saw Amy standing there with a forlorn expression. “Have you been here the whole time?”

“Pretty much,” she said.

-

She sat back in the chair, idly watching the rain pour down. “It’s quite dark out there,” she commented. The man sitting across from her agreed.

“Firuzeh,” he said. She looked over.

“Yes?”

He tapped at a piece of paper on the table. “The latest one has been quite uncooperative. I suggest we move them to the C quarters before the big event tomorrow.”

“Are you sure? The C quarters always tend to be the most full around this time,” she said. “I’m not sure we can spare the room. Perhaps the A or G quarters would suit such a rebellious one better.” Quickly signing something on the paper, she pushed it back over to him. He folded it up and slipped it into his vest.

“It is done, then.” He left, the door quietly clicking shut behind him.

She returned to staring at the rain, pondering what to wear for the event tomorrow. A quirk of the lips indicated her amusement. 

“Let the games begin.”


	11. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic finds a new teacher, but something about her is strange.

She had not always been this fortunate - though enough to be one of the children her mother had kept. Having had to suffer through a childhood of immorality and hunger, it was all the more reason to appreciate the luxurious life she had built for herself as an adult, even having personal servants whenever she wanted. Even right now, having sat still patiently as the servants did her hair, she felt grateful for all of it.

“Firuzeh,” someone said.

“Yes?”

“Your outfit is almost ready.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “The event starts at the usual time?”

“Yes.”

_Good_ , she thought. “In the meantime, I think I will do some more shopping. Idleness does not bring success.”

-

“Sonic, I’m tired.”

The hedgehog turned to look back at the tagalong, who had just started to drag his feet on the ground.

“How are you tired? We’ve only been walking for ten minutes!”

“I don’t know, I just am…”

He resisted rolling his eyes. “Fine, we can stop for a bit. I’m hungry anyway.” They started to scout out the rest of the town, occasionally stopping to ask others if there was any place to eat nearby, but kept coming up empty until –

“Sonic, look!” Ali shouted, pointing at a café across the street. “We can eat there!” He pulled the hedgehog towards it. 

“Wait,” he said. “I don’t have any money.”

Ali stopped, reaching down to dig through his pants pockets until he took out a rather impressive piece of gold. “We can just pay with this! It’s a leftover from the cave.”

“…You’ve been carrying that around the whole time?”

“Should I not have?”

“No, it’s fine,” he said. “But are you sure they’ll accept something like that?”

“Of course!” Ali replied, resuming his attempt to pull the other over. A woman went past them at that moment, almost running into the two. Then she stepped back and offered an apologetic smile, looking them up and down.

“Forgive me for that,” she said. They waved it off.

“We should’ve just been watching where we were going,” Ali said, then realized that she was looking at something in his hand. He raised it, revealing the gold piece within. “Nice, isn’t it? It’s, er, a keepsake from my family.”

She agreed. “It is beautiful.” Her eyes moved to the side, widening slightly. Then she took a step back, smiling widely. “Why don’t you let me treat you? I was just on my way to lunch.”

“If you’re sure,” the fox said. “But it’s really okay!”

The woman continued to insist. “Please, allow me. We can better get to know each other as well.” Her eyes flicked back over to something on Ali’s hand, but were gone before either of them could notice.

Once they had settled at a table, she laced her fingers together and rested her chin on it. “I couldn’t help but notice that _lovely_ ring you’re wearing,” she said, nodding her head towards the fox. He blushed slightly.

“It’s not anything that fancy…”

She smiled, this time a bit more devious. “Oh, but it is. In fact, I have something similar.”

The two looked at each other in surprise.

“You do?” Sonic asked.

“Very much so,” she said, focusing on the hedgehog. The woman leaned back and reached into her bag for something, only to pull out a very familiar object. They gaped at it in shock.

Sonic looked back up. “You’re a djinn?”

“So I am,” she replied. Then something seemed to occur to her. “How rude of me! I did not even introduce myself.” She held out a hand. “My name is Firuzeh, and I am a djinn of the lamp. I saw that he was wearing one of our own’s, and I simply **_had_** to talk to you.”

Firuzeh turned to address Sonic. “How long have you been one of us? Your aura is still rather young.”

_Didn’t Erazor mention something about auras before…?_ Realizing that she was still waiting for a response, Sonic quickly pushed the thought away. “Only for a few days…and what do you mean by auras?”

She blinked in surprise. “Has no one taught you? What is the world coming to these days,” Firuzeh said, muttering the last part.

“No, someone has,” he replied. “But they weren’t a djinn, so they could only teach me so much.”

The woman narrowed her eyes.

“I see,” she said. _Someone was teaching him and it wasn’t one of us?! Honestly…hmm. He should’ve been with us from the start. I must find out how much he knows and then rectify that._

Firuzeh laid her arms across the table in an attempt to appear more relaxed. “How much did this person teach you?”

“Uh, just basic stuff, like levitation and invisibility.”

“No shapeshifting?”

“....That’s a thing?” he asked. She nodded.

“It is one of our powers. Many djinn use it for a living.” _He is worse off than I thought…_

“What else is there?” Sonic questioned, curiosity rising.

“You mentioned auras earlier, did you not? Djinn have a natural talent for sensing anything imbued with magic, whether that be an object or a person.” She pursed her lips in disappointment. “I am honestly astounded at your subpar knowledge. You may still be new, but that is no excuse. I would be more than happy to teach you all that your previous teacher could not.”

Sonic and Ali shared a glance, unsure. “Roshan was a good teacher,” the speedster defended.

“But I can teach you even more,” she said.

“Like how to go inside a ring?”

_Ah,_ she thought, _that must be the reason._ “Yes, I can even show you how to do that. What do you say?”

Sonic tapped his fingers against the table. _She seems a bit stuck up, but if she really can help…_

“Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll do it.” Her eyes lit up in excitement.

“Wonderful!” Firuzeh exclaimed. She stood up from the table and grabbed her bag. “You can come back to my place, and we’ll make lunch there instead.” She took off at a brisk pace, only looking back once to see if they were following. _I do feel sorry for that boy_ , she thought. _It can’t be easy learning from a mere second – hand._

They soon arrived at her place, two out of the three staring up at the sheer size of it in awe. 

“You live here?!” Ali asked.

“I do. I run a very profitable business,” she replied, ushering them inside. “The dining room is down the hallway to the left, third door. The bathrooms are all upstairs, and I will show you to your rooms in a bit. Also, please leave your shoes at the door.”

The two obliged, still gazing at everything before them in shock.

“What kind of business do you run?” Sonic asked.

“I host parties – every elite djinn of this city pays to attend. We hold one every week,” she replied.

He looked surprised. “There are more rich djinn?”

“Yes, that is not very uncommon, actually,” Firuzeh told him. “Many of us use our abilities to better our own social status. If our masters can be rewarded, why can’t we?”

Sonic watched her disappear down the hallway, something starting to feel off. _I guess that makes sense._

_-_

Ali was having the time of his life. Never before had he witnessed such splendor, so many larger than life things. He slid down the marble floor in his socks, before making a dash for the staircase up to the top and sliding down on the banister.

Firuzeh stood at the bottom, arms crossed as if in anger but a twinkle of mirth was in her eyes. “I see you’re enjoying yourself. I do have several outside courts and fields for you to play in instead.”

He nearly fell off the banister.

“Really?”

She nodded. “Yes, I like to keep in physical shape. If you wish, you may use them at your leisure. Lunch is ready as well, if you will be joining us?”

“Of course! What are you serving?”

“Kuku sabzi,” Firuzeh replied. He perked up.

“That’s one of my favorites!” Ali eagerly followed her into the dining room, where Sonic was already sitting.

She slipped into the seat next to him, while Ali sat across. A quick glance revealed that he had barely touched his food. “Are you not hungry?” she asked.

“Not really.”

“Alright, then. After this I will show you a few things,” she promised.

-

There was nothing but silence as she led them into the living room, motioning for Ali to sit and directing Sonic to stand in the middle of the room. “First, we will start with auras. Then I will teach you about the ring.”

“What about shapeshifting?” he inquired.

“That takes the most time to learn, out of all our powers,” she explained. “Now close your eyes and hold out your hands.” He did as she instructed, and she placed a rather heavy object into them. “Focus on the object.”

Inhaling deeply, he did so. _Is it the lamp?_ His hand drifted up towards the handle, confirming it.

“Do you hear it humming?”

Without opening his eyes, he asked, “Am I supposed to?”

“Yes. Magic always has a frequency, but it becomes more pronounced when it is focused on a single object or person, and that it is when we can feel it. Every frequency is different as well, and that is how we can identify individuals, whether they be friend or foe.”

He drew a somewhat shaky breath as he attempted to listen. After a while, it started to come to him. “It’s kind of quiet,” Sonic said at last. “And it feels…upset. Or troubled.” He opened his eyes, gazing at the lamp thoughtfully.

Firuzeh quickly agreed. “That would be the emotional part of the frequency. Running an elite business is not always easy, so it is understandable that my lamp would reflect that.”

“…What did the ring feel like?”

She thought for a minute. “It was quiet as well, but there was a great deal of sadness to it. But I won’t ask.”

“So…how do I go inside it?”

Firuzeh took the lamp back from him and placed it inside her bag. Then she sat next to Ali.

“You must find your inner balance. The space within is all about peace. …It is rather difficult to explain, but the best way I can put it is that you must make peace within yourself. For a lot of new djinn, that can be very hard to do – it is why it can take so long to master."

“But with help,” she continued, “it _is_ possible to learn it much faster. Now close your eyes again.”

“Now what?”

“Take a deep breath in, and exhale slowly. Then count to ten, and take in another breath.”

Ali watched in quiet fascination as the two practiced. _None of the stories I heard about them was like this._

“Now you are ready,” Firuzeh told him. “The first step to finding inner balance is to overcome your emotions. Find what is holding you back and get rid of it. For most new djinn, it is about adjustment. Is that what is troubling you?”

“Kind of,” he admitted. “It’s been hard to think about it, so I try not to.”

_I see,_ she thought. _This is typical for the youngsters, though._ “Why don’t you describe how you’ve been feeling?”

“I…well, it’s just been hard. I didn’t really plan on staying here this long, you know? After I defeated him, I thought it’d be over? And that I could go home. But no…instead I’ve been stuck here, with that **_stupid_** ring.” Firuzeh studied him for a second, debating on how to say it right.

Then she shifted herself a little closer to the edge, folding her hands in her lap. “You are not the only one to feel like this – many of our new struggle to adapt in much the same way you are currently. It is never easy for anyone to have to leave everything behind. But that is why people like me are here, to help and guide. Once you have accepted these new things about yourself, you will be able to do it.”

Sonic was silent for a long while, and Ali looked on in worry. _Is he okay?_

Firuzeh was beginning to look somewhat concerned herself at his prolonged silence. She attempted to say something but broke off when Sonic appeared to come back into reality, shaking his head once.

“I’m still trying on that,” he said.

She did her best to reassure him. “It is quite alright. This is still something that takes time to overcome.”

He nodded.

“In the meantime, why don’t I take you two on a tour? Besides the main hall, there are many surprises to be found upstairs, as well as outside. I believe I mentioned having courts earlier?”

-

Dinner was a meager affair. The three of them had exhausted themselves outside, playing various games in the fields that Firuzeh considered _fun_.

Ali was starting to suspect something about her. Throughout most of the time outside, she had kept interjecting herself in between him and Sonic – he had a nagging feeling that she had been sending him hateful looks when his attention was off her – and it almost seemed like she wanted him _away_ from Sonic.

_Though I cannot figure out why,_ he thought as he watched the two of them. Firuzeh appeared to be innocent at the moment, eating her meal casually and chatting about something with the blue hedgehog.

_…It’s probably just my imagination_ , he concluded. _Nothing to worry about._ He went back to finishing his food, though his eyes never left the djinn.

“Don’t you think so, Ali?”

“What?”

Sonic frowned at him. “You okay? Seemed out of it for a while.”

The fox blinked. “Er, sorry…I must still be tired from playing earlier.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sonic agreed. “I was just asking if you were liking it here so far.”

“Oh, yes! I’ve never seen such a magnificent place before in all my life!” he exclaimed, then immediately tried to stifle a yawn. He pushed his bowl away, standing up from the table. “I think I’m going to go to bed early."

Sonic covered up a yawn as well. “So am I. I’m really tired.” Firuzeh watched the two of them with an unidentifiable expression.

“You can use any of the rooms upstairs,” she said, “except for the one at the very end of the hallway. That’s mine.” They quietly thanked her and begun to head to the staircase. Once the two had ascended, Sonic grabbed the fox’s arm and pulled him back.

“Don’t you think that something is weird about her?” the hedgehog asked. Ali’s eyes widened.

“So it’s not just me?”

They looked at each other, both seeming to think the same thing. _She’s definitely hiding something._

Neither of them spoke after that, merely proceeding to prepare themselves for bed. After they were both in the room, they stared up at the ceiling for a while before Sonic broke the silence. 

“What do you think it is?”

Ali looked over at him, the hero curled up on his side, facing away from him. “Earlier, when we were outside, it almost seemed like she wanted to keep me away from you as much as possible. Even when we were just playing hashtpay, she would do it.”

“There was some things she said earlier, too, that were weird…” Sonic muttered.

“What did she say?”

A soft snore was his only answer, and he leaned over to see the other’s eyes had already slipped closed.

_I should get some sleep too…_

_-_

He jolted awake, eyes flashing open in a panic. He sat up and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. _It was just a dream,_ he reminded himself. _A scary one, but still a dream._ Then he heard it again. A piercing, though rather distant, scream echoed through the room. He went still, gripping the sheets in terror. A quick glance over to the fox showed he was fast asleep.

“Ali,” he whispered, gently trying to shake him awake. The boy grumbled something but made no other move. **_“Ali!”_**

“…What?”

“I don’t think we’re the only guests in this house anymore.” The fox seemed to wake up a bit more at that, blinking wearily as he sat up next to Sonic.

“What do you mean?”

Sonic looked around the room as if trying to find something.

“I thought it was part of my dream, but then I heard it for real. Someone was just screaming like they were in pain, but it was distant. They’re here, though. I can tell.”

Ali took a moment to reflect on his words. “Do you think it has something to do with Firuzeh?”

“I’m sure it does.” Sonic started to get off the bed.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To find them.”

He laid back down, turning on his side away from the hedgehog. “Shouldn’t we just wait until tomorrow? I’m still really tired…and…we’ll have better luck in the light, anyway.”

“But we can’t wait that long,” Sonic protested. “What if by the time we look for them tomorrow, it’s already too late? We have to search now.” He went to open the door, but was stopped by the harsh tone of Ali’s voice.

“No.”

He turned around, a touch of anger on his face. “No?”

The fox nodded. “No. I am tired, Sonic, and I want to sleep. I don’t doubt what you heard, but it’s pointless to try and find them in the dark. Plus, if we get caught by Firuzeh, what are we supposed to tell her? That we were hunting for mysterious screams?”

“Then you can stay in bed. I’m going.” He opened the door, only getting halfway out when Ali’s voice interrupted him again.

“No,” he repeated. “I won’t let you tire yourself out by searching for what might not even be there.”

“Why do you care so much?”

Ali gave him a deadpan stare. “I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t, and besides, you still have your lessons tomorrow. If you fall asleep, what are you going to tell Firuzeh?”

“But – “

He held up a hand, the ring still bright on it. “As your master, I wish that you would go to sleep right now.”

_Damn it,_ Sonic thought, a sudden wave of drowsiness rushing over him. _I…can’t…stay awake…_ . He walked back over to the bed, barely keeping himself up long enough to crawl back under the sheets before he was out like a light.

Ali sighed, watching the other’s chest rise and fall slowly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered before going back to join him in dreamland.

-

The door opened, and Firuzeh stepped through. She made her way down the long passage until she came to her intended destination, where some others were already waiting for her. 

“Good to have you here again,” a young man said. “Unfortunately, it seems the show has been delayed a bit. Four of them have formed a resistance.”

“Is that so?” she asked. The others in the room gave their acknowledgement. “Very well. Have them all moved to the A quarters, and give them the usual, but double it. They will be the first to go tonight.”

“Consider it done, then,” the man said. He whispered something to one of the others, who quickly took off.

“You also have two houseguests at this point, correct?”

“Yes. A new djinn and his…accomplice. He has requested that I teach him about our kind.”

“Do you plan to introduce him?”

She shook her head. “It is too soon to tell. I will need more time with him to decide.”

“Alright,” he replied, turning his attention to below the balcony. She tuned the sound of a distant argument out, tapping her fingers idly against the railing. _Convincing a new one to our side? That would be my lucky day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ali made his second wish!


	12. Something New, Something Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The history of the djinn is brought to light, and Sonic faces an important struggle.

Tired eyes blinked open, immediately squinting against the harsh light coming in through the windows. With great effort, he sat up and glanced about the room, but there was no sign of Ali. As he made his way downstairs, he couldn’t help but think that _something_ had happened last night. _What was it, though? There was the –_

He cut off when he saw the fox sitting at the bottom of the stairs, head held glumly in his hands. “What’s wrong?”

Ali looked up. “I can’t find Firuzeh.” The djinn sat down next to him.

“She might still be asleep.”

“Maybe…”

“Why were you looking for her, anyway?”

“I was hungry.”

Sonic sighed and got up, pulling the fox to his feet as well. “We’ll just have to wait for her. There was something I wanted to ask you, anyway.”

“Er, okay…” he said. The two went into the living room, Sonic being sure to lock the door. Ali was confused. _What is he doing?_ He had the fox sit on the sofa while he stood in front of him, arms crossed. Growing nervous now, he started to grab for his tails, but the hero put a hand out to stop him.

“I’m not mad,” Sonic reassured him. “I just wanted to ask about what happened last night. I can’t really remember.”

Ali felt visible relief at that. “Oh…well, you said you heard a scream, and you were going to go look, but I didn’t want you to be tired, that’s all.”

The hero tapped his foot, thinking. _I do kind of remember the scream now…but not after. I must’ve been really tired, I don’t blame him for making me stay._ Then he noticed Ali was looking at him strangely.

“What?” he asked.

“Er…what are you doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m standing here,” he replied. The boy’s eyes cut quickly to his feet and back up again.

“No, you’re not.”

Sonic started to ask him what he meant when he felt a suspicious lack of substance beneath his feet. Slowly, he looked down.

And then he promptly freaked out.

“Where – where are they,” he choked out, eyes impossibly wide as he stared down. “Ali, **_where are my legs.”_**

The younger of the two seemed to be at a loss for words, busy trying to grab Sonic’s hands and pull him back down to the ground. He huffed in frustration as he continued to fall short, eventually just watching the hapless hero drift about the ceiling. “I’ll go get Firuzeh,” he said. “She can help.” He ran out of the room, leaving the hedgehog to try to get himself down.

_Just my luck,_ he thought. _I’m the one who gets stuck with the ring and all the weird powers. Not anyone else, no…it just **had** to be me. What did I even do to warrant this kind of fa – punishment?! I just want to go home…_

“Sonic!”

Standing under him again was Ali, who had been joined by a clearly entertained Firuzeh. She crossed her arms, trying and failing to hide her grin. “Stuck, are we?” she asked in jest.

He frowned. “How do I get down?”

“You already learned levitation, did you not? Simply use that.”

“What about…” He vaguely gestured at what used to be his legs. Her grin widened, amusement at full peak.

“It is not so hard,” she said. “Visualize that instead of a tail, your legs are there in its place.”

He stared warily at it, trying to imagine his legs there instead. _Come on…_ . Suddenly the tail began to thin out, becoming more coherent as they returned to their physical form. A rush of relief filled him, and he focused on coming down. _“Feel the weight on your feet,”_ Roshan had said, _“and feel the weight pulling you to the ground. You are no longer light.”_

The pull of the ethereal chain was too strong to escape from, and he soon found himself back on the floor being wrapped in a tight embrace. “Are you alright?” Firuzeh asked. Sonic maneuvered his arm out of Ali’s hold to give her a thumbs up.

The fox let go of him and took a step back, looking him up and down. “How did you do that thing?” 

Sonic shrugged, a bit uncomfortable. Ali was about to say something else when Firuzeh intervened, placing a stern hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps we should start the lessons now, since you seem to be so eager to have control," she suggested.

“Okay,” the speedster said. “What are we going to start with?”

“Mastering your inner balance,” she replied.

-

Ali was bored. Very, truly bored. He had been sitting in the same spot on the sofa for the past two and a half hours, watching the two djinn sit across from each other on the floor, both in a meditative position. 

He stifled a yawn as Firuzeh said something to the other, almost tuning it out.

“So you expected to go straight home after you defeated him?” she asked.

“I did. But then Shahra…” His voice broke. “She didn’t make it. And I didn’t know at the time, but…”

“It is alright – you are not the only one to go through this. Death is often traded for a life, among our kind. It is more rare to have both still alive when it happens,” she said.

He was quiet for a bit. “Is it even possible for me to go home?”

“That, I can’t say,” Firuzeh replied. “I cannot see into the future. But, here at least, if you chose to, you could live free – without a master to hold you down.”

“…No master?” he whispered, looking over at Ali who immediately shrunk in on himself.

_I don’t like this…_

Firuzeh nodded. “Yes. It is how some of us live, in accordance to our origins. But I don’t suppose you know that story.”

He acknowledged that he didn’t, the woman still looking a tad disappointed. “Then, as part of your lesson today, I shall tell it to you. It is now _your_ history too, after all.” Ali stretched out on the sofa, intrigued. _Wait until the elders back home find out that I know a real actual djinn story._

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting the tension build before she began.

_“In the very beginning, there was only the Lord. He is the one who brought the angels forth from light. To serve and worship him, he created us, the djinn, from fire which is smokeless, and from earth he created man. We took our place in Mt. Qaf, the mountains of emerald which encircle the earth. The mortal men stayed far away, fearing our powers, and we soon came to call our land Paristan, sharing it with the Daeva, under the rule of Jan Ibn Jan.”_

_“Over time, we descended from our homeland to the world of man, enchanting certain objects with our magic to offer as gifts. But the men took advantage of our generosity, and forced us at our weakest points to become slaves to them, to obey and grant any wish that they desired.”_

_“Using the magic that we had been forced to teach them, some began to enchant completely ordinary objects, then take slaves of their own people and make them wear it. Others did far more cruel things – it is how our lifeforce became bound to our own mistakes. It was then that they realized that we were not immortal, and forced us to do truly wicked things. Once they knew that we could be killed, they simply took one of their own kind to replace us. That is how our cycle started.”_

_“Many of us broke free and returned to the mountains, but for the rest of us, we stayed, continuing to live amongst them, learning their ways and adapting to their lifestyles. As we became free after our masters’ deaths, we remained with their kind and eventually championed to be treated as equal citizens.”_

She opened her eyes, signaling the end of the story. “It was not a battle waged without scars, but in the end we did win the right to live peacefully here.”

Ali was stunned – although he had learned about the djinn from the elders and at school, this part of their history had never been told. He decided to tell her as much. “We learned about you back where I grew up, but it was always stories about djinn going on fantastical adventures or fighting great monsters or doing good deeds for everyone. It was…never anything like this.”

The woman sneered. “Typical.”

Sonic got out of his position on the floor, moving over to join Ali. The two of them shared a quick glance. 

“Well,” Firuzeh said suddenly, also getting up, “I do have some errands to run for a bit. Will you boys be alright without me?” They nodded.

She flashed a smile at them. “Then I will see you in time for dinner.”

-

“This is dumb,” he complained for the hundredth time. “We’ve been searching the house for forever, and we haven’t found a single thing that could prove there’s someone else besides us here!”

“We’ve only covered the upstairs so far,” Sonic shot back. “There could be something else downstairs, like a secret room behind a bookcase, or a trapdoor. Just keep looking.” Ali groaned, rolling his eyes, but obliged.

-

She sat at the table outside, keeping a careful eye on the man across from her.

“And you’re certain everything is going well with your houseguest?” he asked.

“Yes. The education is going well, I have just started on our history,” she told him. He seemed satisfied with that. 

“Good, we cannot afford to have any distractions. Now, about the setup for the party this week…”

-

They had ended up finding nothing in their search, and had sulked – well, Sonic did, Ali kept quiet and read a book – until Firuzeh returned, promising to make dinner as soon as possible. She had seemed unusually chipper, even humming a soft tune to herself as she brought the food into the dining hall.

“Good news, boys!” she said with a wide smile. “I’m hosting a party for the elites the day after tomorrow, so I went ahead and bought a few outfits for you two to try on.”

The fox looked somewhat excited. “Can I try it on now?” She laughed and shook her head.

“No, wait until after we eat.” He slumped in disappointment but dutifully turned his attention to the meal. The second it was over, however, he jumped out of his seat and ran over to her.

“Where are they?”

“I hung them on the banister – wait!” she called out, but he had already left the room. She sighed, then attempted to recover her wit. “Your friend and I will be out there. I’ll leave your clothes on the stairs for you to try later, alright?”

A small nod, and then she was gone.

He finished the food in silence. _What she said about the djinn…I don’t know if she was telling the truth or not, but what happened to them – us? … **No, them** …it was just horrible. __How could anyone do that?_

Ali peeked his head in, frowning as he spotted Sonic still idly sitting there. He came further into the room, dressed in baggy pants and a leather coat. “Are you okay, Sonic?” he asked. “I can help you put on the clothes if you don’t know how.”

He forced the thoughts back and pasted on a grin, hoping it was enough to fool the other. “Sure, let’s go!”

-

“I look ridiculous,” Sonic said ten minutes later. Firuzeh had somehow seen fit to dress him in baggy pants similar to Ali’s and had insisted he keep the jacket on. She had also, rather forcefully, taken the shoes from him and replaced them with something that looked like it belonged in a nightmare. “Shoes with curled ends? Really?”

“You must look _presentable_ for the party,” she said. “Every elite djinn will be there and first impressions are important. They will want to know who you are, and you must show them that you are of a finer caliber.”

“But I’m not really into the whole fancy party scene,” he protested, trying to slide off his shoes discreetly, but winced as she put her foot on them.

“That does not matter,” she told him. “There will be people attending who are far wealthier than I am – it will prove useful to you to establish a relationship with them.”

He finally gave in. “Fine, I’ll go.” _The party might be useful in more ways than one…_

_-_

Firuzeh went through the door again, but no further than the hallway as her coworker was already there.

“My initial observation about my guests was incorrect,” she said. “One of my servants reported to me recently that while I was out today, the two of them searched through my house in an attempt to find something. Though she was unable to determine what it was, it is still suspicious enough that we must alter the events slightly.”

“Do you suggest we get rid of them?”

“No, not yet. For now, I will mislead them until the day of the party, where it will be revealed.”

He nodded. “Of course. I will let the others know.”

“Thank you,” she said, and departed. On the other side of the door, she gave a weary sigh and leaned back on it for support. _I am fairly certain that I can convince him, but as for his friend…he will need to be eliminated. The master is always a liability._

She rested there for a minute more, listening to the shouts of her two guests in the main hall as they played some game called “tag.”

“Alright, boys!” she called out right then. “I do believe it is time for bed.” A _thud_ could be heard, followed by a sharp cry of pain. Quickly hurrying into the hall, she saw Ali nearly facedown on the floor, head laying on the bottom stair. Sonic was standing but clutched his foot, a pang of anguish on his face.

Firuzeh laughed to herself. “What exactly happened here?”

“Nothing. I just tripped, that’s all,” Sonic said.

“Well, if that’s all,” she teased. “It is time for bed, though. I suggest you get all the sleep you can, because I’m giving you extra special lessons tomorrow.”

“Does it have to do with the party?”

“Yes.”

He looked annoyed, but set his foot down and helped Ali up, pulling him behind as they headed upstairs. She waited until they were out of earshot, then beckoned one of her maids over. “Mahin, I want you to keep a close eye on them tonight. They may try to use the cover of darkness to search my house again. If you see them, restrain them and then call for me. Understand?”

“Yes, miss Firuzeh,” the maid replied.

“Get some of the others as backup too, just in case something happens.”

The maid repeated her acknowledgement and retreated back to the servant’s quarters. Firuzeh went up the stairs, debating on how to properly handle them going forward.

Sonic swung his feet on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the outfits he had brought up. _Maybe she was right after all,_ he thought. _Maybe it is time I accept this as my new home now. Even if Amy and Tails and Knuckles are here, I really can’t see a way any of us are getting back._

He paused, bringing his feet to a stop. _Does that mean that I should just accept what’s happened, too? With the ring and everything?_ The sound of his name snapped him out of it. He raised his head to see Ali staring at him in concern.

“What were you thinking about?” the fox asked.

“Just…this. Everything. My…powers, and whether or not I’ll ever be able to go home.”

His face fell, but he walked over and crawled up on the bed next to Sonic. “I’m sure you will.”

“But how do you know that for sure? I don’t want to be stuck here, but – “

“You will, Sonic,” Ali assured him. Then he started twisting his tails, staring off into space. “If you do, can I come with you?”

“What?”

He looked down. “It’s just that…I feel a lot safer around you. And if you were to leave, then I’d be on my own from the thieves again, and I don’t want that.” He straightened, thinking of something. “Of course, my family will have to come too!”

Sonic held up his hands. “Wait, wait, you can’t. You belong here, in this world.” The fox shook his head.

“But I want to see your world,” he said. “If this one really is…in a book…then I want to see what’s outside of it!”

“…Well, I’ll just have to think about it.” That answer appeared to pacify him for the time being. He excitedly hugged the hedgehog before scooting over to his side of the bed.

“See you in the morning, Sonic.”

“Yeah, you too…”

The hero decided to follow the other’s example, laying down and staring straight up at the ceiling. _I guess this isn’t such a bad world to live in, but I can’t help but miss home._ He turned over on his side, watching the light from the window cast odd shadows on the wall. _I wonder how the others are doing right now, I hope they’re okay._

For the first time, he admitted it to himself. _If this is what it’s like to be a djinn, what does that mean for me? Can I ever go back to being a hero? If I do get used to this someday…what does that mean for my friends? Are we really just stuck here after all?_

_And if I outlive them…that scares me more than anything._


	13. Party For Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All that shines is not fine

Firuzeh stood in front of her mirror, inspecting one of the outfits she had picked out for today’s party. A few of her servants hovered nearby, waiting to hear her decision. “I’ll take it,” she said after a while. “Esfir, Omid, Shideh, go check on our guests and see that they are ready.”

“Yes, miss Firuzeh,” they replied.

The three of them went down the hall quickly, Omid being the one to knock on their door. He cleared his throat. “Sirs?” No response. He knocked again, then opened it when he failed to hear anything. He chuckled quietly upon seeing them both still fast asleep. Ali had somehow moved himself parallel to the pillows, head partially hanging off the bed while his leg was right over Sonic’s face – who was still in a curled up position, seemingly unbothered by the other.

Esfir was the one to wake them up, gently shaking them until one groaned and made it a point to show he was not happy about it. 

“What time is it?” Ali said.

“It is 8:37. The mistress has required that you shower and dress before coming down to breakfast,” Esfir replied. 

“I know,” Sonic suddenly muttered. “She spent two hours yesterday going on about how important personal hygiene is.” 

The trio of servants hid a laugh. “Yes, she can be like that sometimes. Breakfast will be in an hour, and the guests will begin to arrive by noon, so please be ready by then.”

“Okay…”

Ali grabbed his clothes, heading over to the bathroom. He looked at Sonic. “You don’t mind if I take a shower first, do you?”

“No.”

He picked idly at his outfit, listening to the muffled sound of running water a room over. Sitting cross legged, he watched the rising sun shine through the window. The hedgehog was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice the sound of the door opening behind him.

“Good morning, Sonic,” Firuzeh said. He whipped his head around, startled. “I came to give you something.” She sat down next to him, reaching in and pulling a tiny box out of her bag.

_A ring?! But I already have one! Wait, is she –_

Then she opened it, halting his thoughts. It was earrings.

“I found these earlier while I was deciding on an outfit. They’re not much my style, but perhaps you’d like to have them?”

“Jewelry really isn’t my thing,” he said. _If I don’t wear it, though, she might lecture me for hours again…_ “But I’ll wear them for the party.”

She grinned. “Wonderful! Then I’ll just leave them here for you once you’re ready.” Ali came out not long after she was gone, and Sonic left him to marvel over the gift while he showered.

-

_I still look ridiculous,_ he thought. After they had had breakfast, Firuzeh had sent him and Ali to her personal stylists, insisting that “just wearing clothes was not enough.” The fox had been snatched up by a man who introduced himself as Jahan, and Sonic was currently with a stylist who was apparently a favorite of Firuzeh’s.

“Now, darling,” she was saying, “it’s important to keep your hair looking fashionable at all times, even when no one else is around. A perfect gentleman is always prepared for the unknown.”

Sonic stood absolutely still – as much as he could manage, anyway – and tried not to protest too much as she messed with his quills. “Even if you don’t have hair in the traditional sense, good care and cleanliness still apply!” Zenda draped a towel over his head and kneeled down in front of him.

“Now let’s see about your hands…”

She pulled a few more things out of her dresser, arranging them neatly in a row. Grabbing his hand in one of her own, she started working on filing the nails.

“You really don’t have to do that,” he said. “I’ll just be wearing gloves later, anyway.” Zenda shook her head.

“A gentleman must always demonstrate immaculateness. If you cannot care for yourself, then you cannot care for anything.”

Finishing his left hand, she moved on to the right one. “My father once told me that, as his only child and daughter, I must hold myself to the highest standard and never settle for anyone with less than mine.”

“Did you find one, then?” he asked.

“Yes, I did. A wonderful man he is, my Alborz. He gave me two beautiful sons as well; Gazsi, and my youngest Behnam – he is actually a lot like you, from the stories you have told me.”

“Really?”

“He is very independent and noble, very daring. I imagine he’ll do many great things as a man.”

Zenda took a step back, inspecting him. Then she smiled, approving of her work. “The guests will be here in a few minutes, and not a moment sooner for you! I do believe that you are ready for your first elite party.”

-

It was overwhelming. Being smaller than everyone else definitely didn’t help – he couldn’t count the number of times he was almost knocked over. Pushing his way to the front of the hall, he caught a glimpse of Firuzeh as she mingled with a couple others.

“Are you new?” someone asked from behind him. He turned around to see an elderly man, dressed in fine clothes and holding a glass.

“New?”

“With us,” he answered. His eyes fell on the boy’s ring, narrowing for a second. “I don’t recognize that aura. You must be new, after all.” 

Ali looked down and then back up with an apologetic smile. “No, sorry. This is someone else’s.” The man froze, then spun around on his heel and disappeared into the crowd. He frowned. _What was that all about?_

“There you are!” he heard Firuzeh exclaim, and he turned around again. She was standing there, also holding a glass. “Are you enjoying the party so far?”

“Er, yes,” he said. “It is a little bit too much, though.”

“They usually are, for beginners. But I am glad that you are liking it so far. Have you seen Sonic anywhere? I haven’t since I brought him down.” 

He nodded. “I think he was over by the food table.” The fox pointed to his left. She smiled in gratitude.

“Feel free to wander about the hall as you like,” she said before vanishing. He watched her go with surly eyes, a sinking suspicion that something bad was going to happen tonight.

-

Sonic was enjoying himself. Well, as much as he could with something that really wasn’t his thing, so for the most part he had kept to himself and stalked everything on the food table. He prayed that his luck would keep holding up and no one would come over to drag him into a conversation.

Unfortunately, that meant he jinxed it as he saw Firuzeh headed his way. He sighed and left the safety of the table.

“Hello,” she greeted him cheerfully. “I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself here.”

“The food’s decent, at least.”

She laughed. “Of course it is, my chefs make only the best.” Then her demeanor slipped into a more serious one. “Why don’t you walk with me for a bit, Sonic? Outside, perhaps.”

Something in the back of his mind told him not to go. He ignored it.

“So tell me, Sonic,” Firuzeh began once they had wandered a bit away from the mansion, “why did you take a master?”

“Uh…well…I – it’s just that Ali looks _a lot_ like one of my friends back home, and when he asked me to protect him from the thieves that were after him, I just…couldn’t say no.”

“I see,” she said, muttering something else that sounded like it had “weak” in it. She sped up for a few more feet, then stopped abruptly. “He is your first one, correct?”

“Yeah…”

“How many wishes has he made so far?”

“Uh,” Sonic thought for a moment, “just one? No, wait, I think last night he made a second one, but I can’t remember…”

“Once he has made his last one,” she said, “and he is no longer your master, you should live free.”

That was when it went black.

-

He didn’t really feel like waking up right now. A dull pain throbbed in the side of his head, and all of his limbs felt heavy. He was pretty sure it was still night, too, judging by the lack of light and fabric around him.

_Wait._

Forcing his eyes to open all the way, he raised his head and felt a rough kind of material against his shoulders. _What the heck? What is this?_ He tried to take it off, but found his arms wouldn’t move.

“You’re awake now?” a man’s voice asked, and he went still.

“Where am I? Who are you?” he demanded. The bag was pulled off his head, and he could suddenly see that he was on a balcony overlooking what looked to be a giant rink.

“You are tonight’s special guest.”

“What does that mean? What’s going on here? And where is – “ He stopped as he saw her out of the corner of his eye, coming around a corner. She looked up from the papers she had and grinned at him.

“I see you’re up now, that means we can get started.” She came up behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. He tilted his head back as far as he could to glare at her. “Oh now, enough of that. We are all friends here.”

“Really? Last I checked, friends don’t kidnap and tie you up!”

Firuzeh chuckled, waving it off. “We’re on your side, Sonic, so you can relax!”

“Then untie me!”

“Not yet,” she promised, a twinkle in her eye. “There is still much to be explained first.”

The woman walked over to the railing, gazing down at the rink. “You see, this place has a purpose. It was built many years ago by our kind, the ones who had been hurt by mortal men. As a way to relieve that pain, they inflicted their same hurt onto their ‘masters’.”

“So…this is…”

“It is a fighting tournament,” she finished, looking back. “Every week at midnight we hold events here. This week just happened to be accompanied by an elite social gathering.”

Sonic felt his blood run cold as he figured it out. “And you want me to join you, is that it?”

“Correct.”

“No.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I figured you’d say as much, you’re still very naïve. I, too, was like that at the start, so I understand your reluctance. But I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.”

Sonic stayed silent.

“You care for that fox, don’t you? It must be hard for him, being all alone without you. I’d hate to see something happen to him.”

“…Trying to threaten me into joining? It won’t work,” he growled.

“Won’t it?” She called over to one of the others, “Jahan, you were with Ali this morning, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was.”

Firuzeh smiled. “Be a dear and bring him to the arena for me, will you? I’m sure our patrons will appreciate seeing a new face out there.”

Jahan started to head past them when Sonic called out to stop. “You can’t hurt Ali,” he said.

“So does this mean you yield?”

“For now,” he grumbled. “But the second I’m free you’re all going down.”

She smirked. “I expected as much. That is why I had one of my servants send for this.” She drew something small and thin wrapped in a small cloth out of her pocket, gingerly folding the cloth back until the object was visible.

“Is that a sewing needle?”

“Close,” she said, coming closer. “It is actually an iron needle.” She jabbed it without warning into his arm, earning a strangled shout of pain. Stepping back, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction at his agonized expression.

“I must have forgotten to tell you – iron is deadly to us. It burns on contact and prolonged exposure is fatal. We were not going to keep you tied up forever, but in exchange we would use that. It can only be removed by a non djinn, but you won’t find any of those where you will be staying.”

His furious glare melted into one of cold indifference. “So what, you’re planning to kill me?”

“Oh no, nothing of the sort. We enchanted it earlier to prevent such a thing. It’ll still hurt, but it won’t be fatal. An honored guest is no good if he’s dead.”

“And how do you know that I won’t just escape anyway?”

“Because if you do, the enchantment will wear off. If at any point you leave this area without permission, I or any of the others are fully authorized to let it kill you on the spot. So you see, you don’t really have a choice – unless you also want to see your friend be part of this.”

He seethed in silence for a minute. “You’re sick, you know that? You and all your friends!”

Firuzeh smacked him across the face, her own anger rising. “If you don’t shut your mouth right now, I will personally see to have it removed.”

“But I can see how you would be angry,” she said. “You are still young, still so naïve and full of hope. We all start out that way, but in the end we have all been hurt too many times.”

“So this is the way you deal with it?” he asked. _Wait, why does this feel so familiar?_

She sneered. “Should they not suffer as much as we have? They deserve to know every bit of pain they put us through for all those years. This is their comeuppance.”

“But there has to be a better way!”

The woman sighed, shaking her head. “There will never be one. When I first became a djinn, I was much like you – idealistic and hopeful, and I believed I could help people, and for a while, I did. It brought me pleasure to see my masters’ happiness at their wishes coming true.”

“Then I got **_him._** He was cruel, far crueler than I could ever be. He wished for immortality, which I could not grant. As punishment, he wished me into eternal slavery and kept me locked up for many years. After he died, I destroyed his house and family. They deserved to suffer as much as I did. It was then that I found this place, and they shared and understood my pain.”

Sonic tried again. “So, they hurt you, and in return you hurt them back? How does that make you any better than them?”

Firuzeh raised a hand as if to hit him again, and she inwardly grinned at the way he flinched back.

“Because I am not trying to be better,” she explained. “I just want them to know _how much they hurt us._ ”

“Then just talk to them! Be civil about it!” he shouted.

“Do you know what happens when we’re civil? When we try to be peaceful and polite and don’t fight back? They walk all over us and regard us as inferior! So we fight, and we show them through action what it feels like, and then they think twice about it.”

Jahan walked back over at that minute, holding a piece of paper. “Miss Firuzeh?”

“Yes?”

“The arena has just finished being cleaned for this event; the combatants will be sent in shortly.”

“Excellent.” She focused back on Sonic. “You of all people should understand – no, you **_will_** understand. Because you are a djinn, you are one of us. And our pain is your pain, and our fight is your fight. You will come to see that. But for now,” she dragged his chair closer to the railing, “let’s enjoy the show.”

-

Sonic woke up in the middle of the night. _Wait, where’s that light coming from?_ A glance to his right revealed several low burning candles spread out on the drawer next to his bed.

_Wait._

_I don’t have a dresser next to my bed._

Then he had another realization.

_Firuzeh – it – she –_

He grabbed for his arm, not daring to look until he felt the fringes of the burning sensation under his fingers. He closed his eyes, counting to ten, and then looked down.

The needle was still there.

_It…wasn’t a dream, after all? I was kind of hoping it was…I remember being tied up, and watching the fight…then what? Did I fall asleep? I must have if I’m here. But where is here, exactly?_ Sonic started to get up, but a weight around his ankles jerked him back and he fell face first over the side. “Did they chain me to the bed? As if the needle wasn’t enough?”

The sound of footsteps made him raise his head, and the door opened to reveal a masked and robed figure. In one hand they held a tray full of food. They slipped a key out of a pocket somewhere and undid the shackles before pulling him back onto the bed.

“Miss Firuzeh is busy today, so she has requested that your wanderings be limited to this floor. Any attempt to escape will result in death. Enjoy your meal.”

Sonic stared after them solemnly. He wasn’t really in the mood to eat…but the food _did_ smell good, so it couldn’t hurt to take a few bites. Once he was done, he tried touching the needle again. It stung, but he felt it was lessened somewhat by his gloves.

_Maybe…_

He gripped the edge of it and pulled. Then he screamed. A white hot pain shot through his arm and up into his shoulder, involuntary tears coming to his eyes. Forced to let go, he moved his hand up to feel if anything was broken.

It wasn’t.

_It totally is._

Collapsing backwards on the bed, he ran a hand through his quills as the hopelessness of the situation became fully apparent. _Not to mention, they took my shoes for the party yesterday,_ he thought, staring down at the replacements in disgust. _So I couldn’t speed out of here even if I wanted to._

He curled up on his side, burying his face into the pillow to muffle his sobs. _The only good thing about this is that Ali is okay…as long as I do what they say, they won’t hurt him._

_-_

Ali had been in the same spot for hours. The servants were whispering about him in concern, but had been instructed not to approach him. It didn’t matter to him whether they tried to comfort him or not, he knew he had failed – as a friend and a master.

He had searched for Sonic after the party was over, but despite going through every inch of the house, he had still come up empty. Any attempt to ask Firuzeh where he was resulted in either a vague answer or an abrupt change in topic.

“It’s a shame we can’t help him,” one of the maids said in their quarters later. “Ever since his friend disappeared, all he does is sit on the sofa. He doesn’t even come out to eat.”

“I know,” said another, “but miss Firuzeh was clear on this. He can become stronger by getting over it alone.”

“Still,” said one more, “perhaps there is a way we can help him, at least secretly. The poor boy needs to eat.” 

They all agreed then, to help him out when the mistress wasn’t looking. Ali continued to be oblivious to the rest of the world, too focused on his own sorrow. He suspected that Firuzeh had something to do with it, but he had no proof at the same time.

_Did she make him leave? Just convince him to run away? Or maybe he left because of me. He was tired of protecting me, right?_ Knees pressed against his chest, he let himself fall to his side, gazing blankly outwards.

_Where **are** you, Sonic? _


	14. The Wolf Is Not Afraid of the Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A game of stakes, and only one can be the winner.

Firuzeh did her best not to look tired – she knew the meetings with her top patrons would last for the whole day, but at the very least she wished that they would stop being so vague about what they wanted to see. She already knew what they wanted – some new faces – but if they would just tell her that already, she could’ve been home and in bed four hours ago.

Kaveh, who had been mostly silent for the whole thing, suddenly spoke up. “How is your surprise special coming along? You recently acquired it, did you not? If it performs well in the arena I might be tempted to bet in on it.”

“Oh, he is leagues above our usual performers,” she said. “He is with us.” A tense air fell over the room, and then everybody started shouting.

“You’re letting one of our own fight?!”

“That’s immoral!”

“We won’t pay for that!”

“You expect him to suffer along with the lowlifes?!”

“Have you lost your mind?”

She held up a hand to silence them. “Now, I never said he would become a fighter. But he is being resistant, and I believe allowing him to participate will give him a new perspective. If he sees how cruel and savage they are down there firsthand, then he will come back to us of his own will, begging us to keep him safe.” 

The patrons began to calm down as they made sense of her plan, a few muttering about it between themselves.

Mahsa raised a hand. “Where did you find him? Bringing in someone new, even as a guest, out of nowhere is terribly uncalled for. Did you even discuss it with the overseer?”

“We met by chance,” she said. “It soon became apparent to me that he needed guidance, and I gave him the opportunity to learn about his own kind. It is unfortunate that he is resisting us, but I am sure that with enough time in our care he will come to see things our way.”

-

“Hey, did you hear?”

“What?”

“Apparently, miss Firuzeh is planning to have a special guest compete in the arena today.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But get this – I heard it was a _djinn_.”

“No way. The patrons are probably just bored and spreading rumors again. She wouldn’t force one of our own to fight.”

“You’re right, there’s no way. Still, it’s a strange rumor for them to spread.”

Sonic stood just around the corner, listening with wide eyes to the guards’ conversation. He ran back to his room, being sure to lock the door. Just to be on the safer side, he crawled under the bed, the sheets hanging low enough to hide from prying eyes.

_If that’s your plan…then come and get me. I won't make it easy._

He didn’t have to wait long. Footsteps sounded nearby, someone shuffling around the room and occasionally whispering something. The hedgehog crawled a bit further back just in case.

Someone else walked into the room, moving around a bit as well. “Is he not in here?”

“No,” the other replied.

Both of them went quiet for a few seconds. Sonic held his breath and slowly started to peek out when something grabbed his ankle and dragged him backwards. He twisted around to see two masked figures.

“The mistress has asked for you to appear in the underground chambers,” the one on the left said, pulling him to his feet. “Your match in the arena is scheduled for 10:00 today.” The other one produced a pair of cuffs, their partner grabbing his arms and holding him down long enough for it to be locked around the hero’s ankles. Sonic glanced up at them in distaste.

“What’s with these?” he asked.

“Necessary precaution,” one said.

“For what? I can’t run away anyway.” Soon realizing that they were blatantly ignoring him, Sonic let out a sigh. _I was at least hoping for a good reaction before I tried it._

The second he was released from their grip, he set his plan into motion. Curling into a ball, he shot through the open door and down the hallway. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew he had to get far enough away to figure out plan B.

Unfortunately, a searing pain coursed through his entire arm, forcing him to slow and then run into a wall. He managed to sit up, weakly grabbing at the source when he felt a pair of strong hands lift him up and hold him close to their chest.

Through bleary vision he was able to make out the face of Jahan, one of Firuzeh’s stylists from before. “I’ll take him to the infirmary to reinstate the enchantment,” he said to someone out of sight. “Hopefully this little lesson will keep him from doing it again.”

Sonic didn’t get to hear the response before he slipped into unconsciousness.

-

When he came to again, the first thing he noticed that the pain had been reduced back to a dull ache. The second thing was that his hands were tied above his head. The third being that Firuzeh was in front of him.

“I told you that if you tried to escape, you would be punished,” she said.

"...You also said that you'd let it kill me."

“True. But your sparring match has already been set. Our clients don’t like it when a combatant misses a match. They get…restless. Consider this a warning. Do it again, and the consequences will be permanent.” She took a step back, looking up at something.

“Oh, and about your punishment? This is it.”

From behind him something clicked, and then he felt the chain jerk at his wrists as whatever it was pulled him higher into the air. It was only when he was about face level with his captor that it stopped.

“Comfortable?” she asked, a wide smirk on her face. He didn’t deign to answer. “There’s still ten minutes left before your match, so that should be long enough for you to consider your future actions…oh, and one more thing.” The woman motioned to someone else in the room.

“Use the steel block. The smaller one if you will, we don’t want to break him just yet.”

Another masked person came over after she had left, holding the requested item. It was a lot thinner than he had imagined – about the size and length of his whole arm. They attached a pair of chains to one end, then locked it around his ankles.

“I will return in ten minutes,” was all they said before departing.

-

Firuzeh was pleased – despite her guest attempting to escape, she was sure that after this, he would be a much more willing participant in her plans. The current combatants, a pair volunteered by one of her youngest patrons, barely held her attention as she discussed the upcoming one with a coworker.

“Has it arrived yet?”

“Yes,” they confirmed. “It came in about twenty minutes ago.” She nodded.

“Good. Then have it ready in five.”

“Yes, miss Firuzeh.”

She barely registered their absence as she turned to stare downwards, eyes glazed over in a sign of being lost deep in thought. _T_ _his better be worth the expectation, because getting it here wasn’t easy._

_-_

“A fresh face?” someone inquired. Sonic flinched back, wincing at the sudden ache from the motion. “They must be getting desperate if they’re bringing in a kid.”

“Didn’t you hear? One of the top brass said there was going to be a special event today – what if he’s part of it?”

“You think so?”

A feminine voice echoed throughout the room. “Alright, that’s enough. Everyone go back to change, he’s on now.” Firuzeh appeared out of the crowd, a pleasant smile on her face as she approached Sonic. 

“I hope you’re ready,” she said. “I had your opponent specially ordered, so you better put up a decent fight for the crowd, or I’ll lose money.” She pushed him towards the door, the chanting outside getting louder. With a final shove, she forced him out into the open, the crowd reaching an impossible level of noise once they saw him.

A man stood in the center, waving. The crowd alerting him to the newcomer’s presence, he turned and grinned. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!” he yelled. “I know you all came here to have a good time, and so you shall have it!”

He pointed at Sonic. “Right there we have a very special guest, personally volunteered by our wonderful hostess Firuzeh! But get this, folks, he’s not just your average fighter – he’s with us!”

The noise faded into a deathly silence. Someone called out, “What’s the meaning of this? You expect us to watch one of our own be subjected to cruelty?”

“Of course not! He won’t be facing any of the regular combatants – no, his volunteer had it sent in especially for him. I assure you, everyone, that this fight today will be one for the ages!”

He quickly hurried out of the rink, the sound of a low horn indicating that the match had begun. A door opened on the other side and **_it_** stepped out. Sonic felt an inexplicable wave of fear come over him.

The wolf paced for a bit before seemingly noticing him, growling low as it started to circle him.

Everyone in the crowd was screaming – whether in excitement or fear, he couldn’t tell – as the wolf got closer. _Why can’t I move? It feels like my feet are bolted to the floor. It’s just an oversized dog, for crying out loud. I should be able to handle it._

**_Hide_** , a voice in the back of his mind urged.

_What –_

**_Do it._ **

With great effort, he finally got his feet to move, running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. But without the protection of his shoes, the wolf was faster. It pounced on him from behind, sending them into a roll before it pinned him underneath its paws, the growling ringing in his ears. Sonic was completely paralyzed.

_Why can’t I –_

A snap of teeth was his only warning before the wolf tried to grab at his throat. He turned his head and brought his knees up, pushing against the creature with all his strength.

_Oh._

Wolves were much heavier than tiny robots. Still, the unexpected force was enough to make it move back a bit, allowing him room to pull himself free and make another run for it. 

People were cheering loudly now as he ran past them, the animal still close on his heels. Then he tripped, the impact driving the needle deeper into his arm. He hissed in pain, but had no time to get up as the wolf landed on top of him again.

“Kill it!” someone shouted. A dagger soared and hit the ground a few feet away, the crowd taking up the chant to kill. 

He almost reached for it, but the wolf had other plans. It struck down and locked its jaw around his arm, sinking its teeth in as far as they could go. Biting back a scream, Sonic used his free arm to drag himself up and grabbed for it again, fingers barely closing around the handle.

“Yes!”

“Kill it!”

The words ran through his mind, filling him with a strange emotion. He aimed for the snout, earning a pained whimper from the wolf as it released his arm. Half turning onto his side, he was prepared as it lunged for him again. But that was the last thing the wolf would ever do.

The audience screamed louder than ever, clearly loving it. Sonic let the dagger slip from his grasp, eyes barely staying open before he collapsed.

-

“You did very well, Sonic.”

He opened his eyes to see Firuzeh sitting at the very edge of the bed. “Thanks to you, I got to keep the money I had borrowed. So as a reward, your wandering privileges have been extended to the rest of the building.”

“They just wanted to see someone die out there, didn’t they?” he murmured. “No one actually cared about anyone fighting.”

“Correct. And you exceeded their expectations, by the virtuous act of defending yourself.”

“What?”

“The wolf had injured you, did it not?” She nodded at his bandaged arm. “You retaliated, in self – defense.”

“But I don’t…I don’t kill.”

“Different situations can bring out new sides in people,” she told him. “Clearly this is one of yours.”

“No…” he protested weakly. He tried to sit up but found that his feet – along with his bandaged arm – were once again chained. Sonic looked over at her. “Why?”

Firuzeh simply smiled. “We can’t have you moving around too much while you’re recovering, can we?” She moved over to the door, then added, “Someone will be by later to bring dinner. You’ll be fighting again tomorrow.”

_Again? Tomorrow?! But…_

Sonic leaned back on his pillow, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. _Am I never going to get out of here?_

“I just want to go home,” he whispered.

**_But you can’t._ **

“There might still be a way…”

**_There isn’t._ **

He tried to think of a comeback for that. “What do you know? It could be possible.”

**_It is not._ **

Sonic started to get annoyed.

“Just shut up. You’re making me talk to myself.”

**_That would be accurate._ **

“What are you, anyway? Am I actually losing my mind now?”

**_No, we are still sane._ **

“….We?”

No response.

“Hello?”

Silence.

Sonic huffed, closing his eyes. “I guess I am losing it. I’m hearing imaginary voices in my head.”

**_My apologies._ **

“What – “

**_To answer your question, I am you._ **

“…Okay, now you’re starting to creep me out. What the heck do you mean by that?”

**_You need to return to Ali. He has the answer._ **

“That’s still awfully vague.”

No answer.

“…And we’re back to the silent treatment. Great.” He rolled over – as much as he could with his arm in a chain – and tried to go to sleep. _I want to go home._

_-_

_He was back in the arena._

_The wolf was after him again, but he could handle it. Reaching for a weapon instinctively, he was surprised when his hand came up empty. He didn’t have time to think about it, though – there was another wolf chasing him._

_Sonic tried to run, but found he wasn’t moving. When he looked down, he saw the reason why – he no longer had any feet, having been replaced with the wispy tail. It was then that the wolves jumped him, sneering down in delight as they inspected their catch._

_One spoke. “There is nothing better than seeing the pure terror on its face. Don’t you agree, brother?”_

_The other snarled. “Yes. It really makes the chase worth it.”_

_Sonic had to get away._

_“Is this about revenge?” he gasped. “I don’t know why – “_

_The wolf leaned down, a low growl in its throat. “You are just as much a victim of this as we are.”_

_“Then why – “_

_“When I was selected to fight you, I resisted, and my brother came to my aid. But in the end, they killed him and I was left defenseless. I was angry, and when they said to fight you, I did. But now that I am here, I no longer have a reason to be angry.”_

_His brother stepped in. “We are here to help.”_

_“When you seek retribution, we will be there,” the first one said. They gradually faded into mist, leaving Sonic alone in the center of the rink._

He woke with a start. _What a crazy dream,_ he thought, sitting up. Then he noticed a few different things about the room.

The candles from last night had been replaced with new ones, tiny flames flickering against the shadows. His hand had been unchained at some point while he was unconscious, and a tray of hot soup rested next to him.

“Couldn’t bother with the feet, huh?” he muttered as he went to take a bite. _I hope Ali and the others are still doing okay…_

_-_

“I’ll set the table,” she said. Roshan nodded at her.

“Thank you,” they replied.

Amy took a handful of plates down and headed to the dining room when she heard an excited shout from the hallway. She almost dropped the plates, but managed to slide them on the table before running out.

“What is it?” she called.

“It’s Ali! He’s back!”

_“What?”_ She ran up next to Tails, gazing at the trembling fox in front of her.

“Are you okay?” she asked. He shook his head.

“It’s Sonic,” he whispered. “He’s gone missing.”

The two felt their heart stop. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. He disappeared after the party two days ago and no matter how hard I looked I couldn’t find him anywhere!” the fox cried. Amy reached out a hand to comfort him.

“So I thought – I thought that maybe you could help. You two know Sonic best, you – you would know where he is.”

Knuckles appeared from around the corner. “I heard shouting, what’s going on?” He stopped when he saw the two foxes in the hallway. “Let me guess, the other one is back.”

“Ali,” Tails supplied.

“Yeah, him. What is he doing here?”

“He says that…Sonic is missing.”

Ali nodded. “It was when she was hosting the party, she asked where he was and I told her and then that – that was the last time I saw him. I _know_ she has something to do with it but she won’t tell me and I don’t have any proof and - !”

“Whoa, hey, slow down,” Amy said. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but whatever it is I promise we’ll help you find him.” Tails gave a quick nod.

“Why don’t you come eat with us and tell us about it?”

-

“So this Firuzeh – she was helping Sonic?”

“Yes.”

“And you say that he disappeared right after she asked to see him?”

“Yes.”

Amy looked thoughtful. “Then she _definitely_ had something to do with his disappearance. The last person to be seen with usually does.”

Ali let out a sniffle.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Tails reassured him. “We’ll find him no matter what. It’s likely that he’s still somewhere in her mansion, just very well hidden.”

“But I searched everywhere!”

“It’s possible that you still missed something. Pretty easy to do in a mansion.”

The fox was quiet. “Well…the only place I didn’t – “

He suddenly dropped his fork, raising concern from the others. “I know where he is.”

Amy shared a glance with the other occupants.

“Where?”

Ali looked at them with a serious expression. “The one place I never looked, because she told us to stay out of.”

They held their breath.

“Her bedroom.”


	15. Endurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray is the night when it sees the light of day
> 
> Amy and co stage a rescue, and an old friend lingers at the edge of the horizon

Amy was having a hard time believing any of this. She knew Ali was telling the truth, of course, but to think that Sonic could have just _disappeared_ like that was something she just couldn’t comprehend. 

_I should have just gone with them from the start,_ she thought. _If anyone had tried anything I would’ve –_

“Amy, you there?”

“Huh?”

Tails looked at her, a bit worried. “We were just going over the details of the rescue plan.”

“Oh, right, of course.”

“Anyway, it’s pretty easy. We’ll sneak in through the balcony on Ali’s bedroom. Then Amy and Knuckles will keep watch while me and Ali look through Firuzeh’s room for anything suspicious.”

“But what if we get caught?” Ali interjected.

Tails considered that a bit. “Then we just say that you invited some friends over and we were exploring.”

“Would that really work? She did tell us to stay out of her room…”

“Just pretend you forgot.”

“Do you think she’d buy that?” Ali asked.

“Doesn’t matter. Worst comes to worst, we fight our way out. But we _are_ going to get Sonic back, no matter what.”

-

He stood at the entrance to the arena, listening to the announcer stir the crowd up with excitement. The other fighters stood behind him, waiting solemnly for their turn. 

The low horn sounded, signaling the first match. “First up is our long time champion Kir, to be paired with a very interesting opponent. After his last act of rebellion, the top has ruled this to be a worthy punishment.”

A few of the fighters whispered amongst themselves.

“It is my pleasure to introduce tonight the family duo – our Kir and his daughter Bahar! Only one will be leaving this arena alive, place your bets on who it will be now!”

The two of them pushed past Sonic with grim expressions. His eyes widened at the sight of the girl. _She’s just a child…looks to be about Tails’ age._ He tried to imagine the fox out there in her place. _They’re making a **child** kill or be killed? They’re even sicker than I thought._

Sonic had to get away.

He ran past the others back out into the hallway, closing the door with a bang behind him. Sitting against the wall, he could hear the loud cheering of the crowd, though it seemed far away at the same time.

Someone came out soon after, though he didn’t check to see who it was. They sat down next to him, neither of them saying anything for a while. 

“Not fair for a kid like you to be here.” The man took the silence as permission to continue. “It’s bad enough that they make us fight, but a kid?”

“Aren’t they making a kid fight right now?” Sonic asked, lifting his head up just enough to be heard. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about her.”

“She’ll be fine,” he replied. “Kir would rather die than hurt her.” 

The door opened again, and a masked figure stepped out. “Xerxes, your time is in. Sonic, you are after him.”

He looked back at the hedgehog before he went in, a face full of sorrow. “Whatever you do, you have to fight on your own terms.”

-

She gazed out over the arena from the balcony, feeling a bit pleased with herself. _When Sonic’s match comes, he better put up a good fight again. If I don’t keep the money I had that patron spend on it, the overseer will have my head._

“Have you decided on who it will be that is fighting your guest?” Mahsa asked.

“Yes,” she answered, keeping her gaze down below. “Azar will be facing him. She is exceptionally powerful and has the most kills, so I deemed it only appropriate that she be used to teach him a lesson.”

“But you have instructed her not to kill him, right?”

Firuzeh nodded. “Of course, I gave her an extra dose just to be sure.”

“Look, the next match is about to start!” a woman called out. They gathered around the railing, eager eyes awaiting. She held her breath. _It is time._ Sonic slowly emerged, looking rather grim as he waited for his opponent to arrive.

Azar soon showed herself, standing at the far side of the arena as they warily watched each other. Raising a spear, she yelled, “Fight me or die!” Then she charged, gaining speed before she threw her spear. Sonic was quick enough to dodge it, rolling then coming up and making a break for it. 

She took a moment to pick up the weapon then threw it again, chasing him all the while. This time it barely grazed his shoulder, but he did his best not to falter and kept going. He suddenly stopped, spinning around and going into another roll. He used the brief burst of speed to bounce up and slam into her. Dropping back to the ground, he made a dash for her spear.

“Using my own weapon against me?” Azar smirked. “A clever lad you are. Almost makes me think I trained you myself.” She pulled a dagger out of her belt. “Now we are both ready.”

That was the signal.

The floor began to move, splitting open at the center and forcing the two fighters to pull themselves onto the wall. An iron surface slowly rose up to replace the original, drawing the sound of utter shock out of the audience.

Firuzeh’s voice echoed from the balcony. “Everyone, please calm down! I am aware this is a most upsetting development but I assure you, I have good reason for it.” She pointed down at Sonic. “Think of this not as a fight, but as a test. This show will prove to be unforgettable.”

With that, the fight resumed. Azar easily took back to the floor, but Sonic remained apprehensive. "What’s the matter?” she jeered. “Afraid of a little iron?” She aimed her dagger at him. “I heard about what you are, you know. I must admit, it is a little odd they’re making one of their own fight. Under different circumstances, I might take pity on you. But as things stand right now, _you are still one of them_ , and I have no intention of dying today.”

Someone from the crowd pushed him off the wall. His arms flailed briefly before he hit the ground, and his first instinct was to curl up. Because it **_stung._** The pain filled every part of his body, burning him from the inside. 

He forced himself up anyway, suddenly glad for his clothes. _It’s not much, but they do seem to lessen the pain a bit. As long as I don’t come into direct contact, I’ll be fine._

Then he charged, using the speed to jab the end of the spear into the floor and pull himself up, the short distance between them granting him just enough time to curl and hit her dead center. 

“It’s not like I wanted this,” he growled. “It hasn’t been easy for me, okay? I’m lost and stuck here when I just want to go home. Trust me, the _last_ thing I want to do is fight.”

Azar struggled to her feet. “You want to cry about it not being easy? I’ve been here for ten years – ripped away from my home and family at only fourteen. They don’t even know if I’m alive or dead. On top of that, I am forced to fight on a regular basis for the entertainment of these bastards. Do you know how many lives I’ve had to take for their amusement? How many times I tried to escape and was punished? You want to whine about it not being easy? Do us all a favor and shut up.”

She lunged without warning, pinning her elbow against his throat and holding his feet down with her own. His quills burned where it met the floor, the fiery pain filling his head and forcing him to shut his eyes.

“You don’t get it, do you? You think this is still some game – that you can beat this and get back home and act like nothing will have ever happened. I can tell by the way you fight, that you’re not being serious. Otherwise you would have already tried to kill me. But even if you are on their side, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re just as much their plaything as I am.”

He didn’t answer right away, still struggling not to pass out from the burning pain inside his skull.

“Don’t you get it? We’re not going anywhere. We’re trapped here, this is our fate. Once you accept that, I won’t feel so bad about killing you.”

Azar stood, planting a foot firmly to keep him down. She flipped the dagger in her hand a few times before –

He rolled and swept her right to the floor. “I’m not looking to die today, either. Guess we’re both out of luck, then.” 

“You still don’t understand,” she said. “Unless one of us kills the other, this match is not over.”

“What if we just forfeit?”

She gestured towards the audience. “Would you rather have a thousand bloodthirsty djinn after you?”

“….Good point.” _What if she just acts like she’s going to kill me? Surely Firuzeh wouldn’t let it get to that point._ Sonic ran at her, Azar preparing her dagger right as he went into a slide, reaching up to grab the blade and yank it out of her hand. He winced as the blade sliced through the fabric and into his fingers, but he didn’t have time to dwell on the pain.

He threw it as far away as he could, never taking his eyes off his opponent. She snarled at him, but made no move to produce another weapon. “If you’re going to kill me,” he announced, “then do it the old fashioned way – with your bare hands!”

“Fine,” Azar snapped. She had him pinned down once more in an instant, both hands wrapped tightly around his neck. He struggled to breathe easy, closing his eyes and focusing on the noise of the crowd surrounding them.

_One, two, three…_. The noise dimmed, fading to a distant roar in his ears. _Four, five, six._

Her hands pressed harder, and suddenly he couldn’t take in any air. _Seven, eight._ He had a hard time thinking straight. His body wouldn’t respond to him. _Nine –_

Darkness overcame him.

-

“Alright, Azar, that’s enough,” Firuzeh said quietly. The fighter abruptly released her grip, standing up.

“Go back to the chambers, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Of course.”

Firuzeh ignored her after that, kneeling down by the hedgehog. “I’m not sure if this was an elaborate trick or if he really had a death wish…still, it doesn’t matter. He’ll have to go to the infirmary again.”

-

“Hurry up, Tails.”

“That’s what I’m doing!”

“Well, you’re not doing it fast enough! Someone could walk around that corner any second and catch us! And whose fault would that be, huh?”

The fox sighed, growing ever more irritable with the echidna. “Look, I’m _trying_ but I can’t _concentrate_ because you keep talking to me! You and Amy are supposed to be on guard anyway!”

“Yeah, well, you were taking too long.”

“ ** _Ugh_**. Fine, I got it open. Happy?”

The door swung open as they peered inside, inspecting a darkened room.

“I don’t think Sonic is in here,” Amy whispered.

“Maybe there’s a secret passage of some kind. Like with Roshan,” Tails whispered back, creeping further in. Knuckles started investigating the floor as the others spread out, Amy and Ali checking the walls while Tails looked at the furniture.

“Guys.”

“What? Did you find something?”

Tails nodded, pointing at something underneath the wardrobe. “There’s part of a door there. I bet you anything that Sonic is down there.” Ali rushed over, pushing it out of the way. He glanced back at the others.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” They all agreed, getting into position as Tails cautiously pulled the door back. A long hallway stretched before them, lit only by torches that couldn’t pierce the foreboding darkness at the other end.

“So, who should go first?”

“I will,” Amy volunteered. She lifted a torch out of its holder and took off, the rest following at a more reluctant pace. 

Nothing was spoken until they reached the end, the door slightly adjacent. “That’s weird…” Tails muttered to himself. To the others, he said, “There could be anything or anyone down here, so be prepared at all times.”

“Right.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Er, okay…”

Tails pushed it open to reveal a similar hallway. He quickly checked for people, then motioned them through.

“It looks like we’ll have to split up,” he said. “I know that’s a bad idea, but we don’t know where Sonic is and we’ll cover more ground on our own. Amy, you’re with Knuckles again, you head right, and Ali and I will head left.”

“We’ll meet back here in an hour then,” Amy said.

“That should work.”

With that, they headed off.

-

Low voices crept into his mind, slowly pulling him from the depths of sleep. He blinked wearily, trying to make sense of his surroundings. _Am I back in the same room?_

Eyes shot open as he remembered. _That’s right…I was trying to get out of the match by having Firuzeh call it off. It must have worked…_

_Wait, my hands –_

He looked down, noting with a familiar despair that his wrists were once again chained, this time to the side of a chair. _Can’t move my legs, either…_

The memory of hanging in the air flashed through his mind. _What are they going to do this time? Is it because I didn’t kill her?_

“Good, you’re awake.”

“What did I do wrong this time?” he asked, slightly angry. “Is this because I didn’t kill her?”

“Partly, yes, but also because I have reason to believe you cheated that fight.”

“What – “ _There’s no way they figured it out._ “What do you mean?”

Firuzeh frowned at him. “Don’t play games, Sonic. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? You must have been taking me for a fool this whole time, which was your first mistake.”

“So you’re going to punish me again?” 

“Clearly, you didn’t learn from the first time. I will do it as many times as I have to, until you finally learn.” Someone from behind locked something around his neck, pulling his head flat against the chair.

“What is this supposed to do, anyway? More waiting?”

She laughed. “Not quite, Sonic. Do it.”

A sudden pain shot through the back of his neck, and he couldn’t help but cry out as it continued all the way down his back. “Go for as long as you deem necessary,” Firuzeh said, “but make sure to stop before it paralyzes him. He’ll be no good in the arena that way.”

Sonic couldn’t think straight through the pain, hands clenched so tightly around the armrest that they were beginning to ache. It felt like his spine – all of his bones - was breaking in half, and then he could no longer stand it and screamed out for it to stop.

The darkness invited him in once more.

-

“Did you hear that?” Amy asked.

“Yeah…sounded like someone screaming. Think we should check it out?”

“Definitely.” She took out her hammer. “Sonic might not be the only person they’re holding prisoner here.”

They made their way down the hallway, keeping a careful eye out for any guards. When they were about halfway, Knuckles suddenly stopped.

“What is it?”

“The scream came from behind that door over there,” he pointed, “I’m sure of it.”

Amy lifted her hammer high. “Then let’s get to it.”

-

Something fell.

The people still in the room grumbled about defunct machinery, ultimately choosing to ignore it. That didn’t last long when an angry shriek filled the air. “Where is – “

She saw him at that moment, hammer falling to the floor and eyes widening in shock. She stumbled back, face alit with horror as she stared at what was before her. Sonic was slumped over in a wooden chair, limbs held down in chains in an uncomfortable fashion. Something behind him was barely holding his head upright, and she thought that it almost looked broken.

Amy wasted no time in rushing over, gently setting his head back and focusing on undoing the cuffs. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll take care of everything.” Once they were off, she carefully lifted him out of the chair and held him in her arms.

“You!” She pointed her hammer at the others with her free hand. “Did you do this to him?” 

They seemed too stunned to respond, so she slammed her weapon against the ground. “Answer me!”

“No…it was miss Firuzeh. She – she was in charge of him. This was all her doing! We just work here, we don’t know anything…”

She growled at them. “You’re all pathetic. Hurting an innocent person like this?” She rose her hammer as if to throw it, but made no other motion upon seeing them cower.

“You’re not worth my time, anyway,” she said. “Knuckles!”

“Yeah?”

She draped Sonic into his arms. “Take him outside and wait for the rest of us.”

“Where are you going?”

Amy slung her hammer over her shoulder, staring at him as if it were obvious. “I’m going to find this Firuzeh, of course.”

-

Tails was in trouble. They both were, having been caught trying to watch in on a meeting. Now they were currently held back at knifepoint, arms raised in surrender.

“How did you find us?”

Neither of them dared to say anything. 

“Wait, isn’t one of them the guest that miss Firuzeh had?” Tails’ ears perked up. _That’s the name Ali mentioned._

“Yes, we are!” he announced. “We were invited here by miss Firuzeh.”

One of them lowered their knife, addressing someone in the back of the room. “Is that true, miss?”

_Oh no…_

“I don’t know,” a woman said, tone lightly teasing. “Is one of them a yellow fox named Ali?”

“Uh…actually, there are two yellow foxes.”

“Oh?” Now she sounded surprised. The group parted to reveal the speaker, who looked down on them with a mix of suspicion and intrigue. “I suppose they’re long lost twin brothers, then?”

“Er…yes!” Ali cried. “He is my twin brother, separated at birth, who has journeyed far and wide to find me here.” Tails nodded.

She still looked suspicious, but allowed herself to entertain them. “So what are you doing here?”

“You invited us, remember?”

“Did I? …Ah yes, now I recall,” she said. “Jahan, be a dear and take them to Room 22.” He obliged, pushing them none too gently towards the door.

“Wait just a second!” someone cried. They all looked to see who it was, and the foxes’ faces lit up in relief. Blocking the doorway was none other than Amy Rose, brandishing her hammer with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

“I heard there was a Firuzeh here,” she said, searching through every unfamiliar face. “Anyone care to reveal who it is?”

Tails and Ali quickly pointed at the woman.

“Thank you,” she said, then stepped past them. “I heard you were the one responsible for Sonic’s disappearance? Did you perhaps have anything to do with him in that chair as well?”

“He was being uncooperative. I only used such methods to teach him,” was her simple reply.

“You were hurting him, is what!” Amy screamed. “But now you’re the one who’s gonna get hurt.”

Firuzeh smiled. “I don’t think so.” The others in the room began to circle the girl, but she just rolled her eyes and pounded her hammer against the floor, causing them to lose their balance.

“You get that? That’s my special earthquake move.” She looked right at Firuzeh.

“Now it’s your turn.”

-

Sonic was so tired. His back and neck ached something fierce, and he just wanted to curl up and return to blissful peace, but life had other plans. The warmth was suddenly whisked away, leaving a frigid air to attack. He tried to grab for it, but something else prevented him. 

The feel of cold metal registered in the back of his mind, and he immediately flew into a panic. Something held him down – he couldn’t move, but he was trying. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the restraints felt soft and heavy, the exact opposite of the chains.

“It’s okay,” someone was saying. “Just focus – Sonic, can you see me? Calm down, you’re safe now. Relax.”

“What…where am I?”

“You’re in Roshan’s living room.”

“…Tails?”

The fox nodded, eyes glistening with tears. “It’s okay, Sonic. We’re here with you.” He pulled himself upright, despite the fierce pain. Amy and Knuckles were sitting nearby with Roshan, while Ali was nowhere to be seen.

“May I have a moment to speak with Sonic alone?” Roshan asked.

“Oh, yeah, of course…”

“Sure.”

“Okay…”

After they had gone, Roshan turned to Sonic with a surprisingly regretful expression. “We are not aware of what exactly happened, but from what your friends have described and from your injuries we know it was not good. I also found this.”

They held out the object in their palm, sadly watching the way Sonic flinched away from it. “An iron needle, designed to imprison and control a djinn. I do not have much experience with these, but I have heard countless horrors about it.”

Roshan’s gaze lingered on his bandaged shoulders. “I…am not one for regrets, but I do still feel it was a mistake to let you leave. Had I known what you would suffer…”. They shook their head.

“It’s fine, Roshan,” the hedgehog said. “It’s really not a big deal. She’s gone, and I’m here and safe with my friends. It’s okay.”

“No, **_it is not_** ,” they spoke in a stern tone. After a moment of thinking, they sat back on the sofa, staring idly at the wall. “But no one will pressure you to talk about it,” they murmured. “Just know that you have the choice to.”

The two of them sat in silence for a while, both lost deep in thought. Sonic had almost drifted off to sleep when he felt an arm wrap around him, pulling him close. “What are – “

“I believe this is one of many ways people can show affection,” Roshan said, pulling him closer still. “I do not mind you using my arm as a pillow, this one time.”

Sonic closed his eyes again, voluntarily falling into the warmth of the dark. “Okay,” he said.

Then he was out.

-

Rouge sat on the edge of the chest, watching the waves roll next to the ship. _Almost hit land,_ she thought, _and then I’ll find them._


	16. Cry of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and co have an open discussion, and Rouge makes landfall for the first time.

Ali had been doing his best to avoid the others. They had never said it aloud, but he was sure that they all blamed him.

_“It’s your fault he’s hurt,”_ Amy would say. _“You should’ve been keeping a better eye on him!”_

_“You’re worthless,”_ Knuckles would tell him. And Tails…Ali feared his response most of all.

_“You don’t deserve to be my twin!”_

A creak at the door indicated someone was there. “Ali?” It was Roshan. “What are you doing here in the dark?”

“Just go away,” he mumbled. They came closer, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What is it that you are upset about?”

“I never said I was upset.”

“Then why are you curled up on the bed in the dark, in the middle of the afternoon?”

“Maybe I was napping,” Ali replied.

Roshan hummed. “Is that so? Well, I believe it is time for you to come out and enjoy the snack I had prepared.”

“Not hungry right now…”

“Then come out to talk to the others.” Ali muttered something.

“What was that?”

He sat up, glaring at them. “Don’t bother trying to get me to leave when everyone else hates me!”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because… _it’s my fault_ ,” he whispered.

“Why is it your fault?”

“It is,” he insisted. “If I hadn’t told Firuzeh where Sonic was at the party, then she would never have taken him and hurt him like that. It’s my fault.”

Roshan hummed again. “Don’t you think she would have found him anyway, with or without your help?”

“Well…I guess. But – “

“You cannot blame yourself for something that you did not know would happen,” they said sternly. “It is no one’s fault but hers in this situation. It is not as if you were a willing helper in her plan, were you?”

“…No.”

“Then it is not your fault.” They stood up, motioning for Ali to come with them. “I believe you have a few friends who would like to see you.”

-

“I’m worried about him,” Amy said, looking over at the sleeping speedster. “He hasn’t woken up since last night.”

Tails agreed. “Maybe his injuries are worse than we thought…if we were back home I could do an x – ray but they don’t seem to have any decent tech here.”

“Yeah, it’s almost as if we went back hundreds of years,” she said.

“He probably just needs to sleep a bit more,” Knuckles spoke up. “Nobody knows what exactly they put him through, but those were some pretty deep scars on his neck.” He gave an involuntary shudder at the memory of the chair they had found him in. “A little more rest is all he needs, that’s all.”

Roshan swept through the doorway, followed by a nervous fox. “Hey…”

“Hello,” they greeted him back.

“I, er…uh…is Sonic awake yet?”

Amy shook her head. “No, he’s still sleeping. Do you think we should wake him up?”

“Well…” Tails started. “It might do him some good if he ate something.” They debated for a while on who would be the one to wake him up, and Knuckles eventually ended up getting the short straw. 

Grumbling, he made his way over the sofa and shook Sonic – _gently_ – a couple of times. The hero’s eyes fluttered open, annoyance filling his face. “What do you want?”

“Tails says you need to eat something,” Knuckles pointed over his shoulder. “So get up.”

“But I’m not – “

A cold stare from the echidna cut him off.

“Fine, I’ll get something.”

Roshan offered him part of the snack they had made, and once Sonic had sat back down Tails addressed him. 

“Sonic, we need to talk.”

The hedgehog already knew what was coming, but he feigned ignorance. “About what?”

“About what they did.” He instinctively curled up a bit, the action not going unnoticed by the others. They shared a worried glance.

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

_“Yes,”_ Tails insisted. “It’ll help.”

“…How?” He said it so faintly they almost didn’t catch it. “It’s over and done with.”

“But you’re not over it,” Amy said. “It’s been proven that talking about stuff helps you feel better.” 

Ali watched them argue, though it was starting to feel like he was seeing them from an outsider perspective. _I still kind of feel like it was my fault…but if talking does help, then I’ll start,_ he thought. 

“Sonic?” The room quieted and everyone was looking at him. _I am not nervous, this is not scary…I can do it._ “I – I just wanted to say that I am sorry. For everything. For letting Firuzeh take you, and I should’ve tried harder when I was looking for you. It would not have happened if I had just…just…” Unable to speak properly, he opted to launch himself at the hedgehog, wrapping his arms around him as tight as he could.

_“I’m sorry!”_ he wailed. _“It’s my fault – I should’ve done something – I should’ve been there – …I wi – “_

“Hey, now, it’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Sonic said. 

“But it is,” he objected. Sonic gently moved him onto the sofa, doing his best to comfort.

Ali took a deep breath in. “Are you okay now?” He nodded, still sniffling a bit.

“I wish Firuzeh never existed,” he muttered. Sonic tensed up next to him. 

The speedster could literally _feel_ it happening, and somewhere in his mind he could see the target of the wish be gripped by a sudden and unexplained tremor, the others in the room rushing over in a panic. He saw her collapse and he could physically feel the life leave her body.

It was a sickening feeling, but he couldn't do anything about it. The wish was done.

The ring then fell off Ali’s finger, drawing the others’ attention. “What is that?” Knuckles asked. Sonic picked it up, turning it over a few times warily.

“It’s Sonic’s,” the fox answered. “When I – oh, the third wish! That’s why it came off.”

“Say what?”

“The master wears the ring of the djinn, and after they’ve made the three wishes the contract is over,” he explained.

“Oh, I get it,” the echidna said. “So…”. His gaze drifted over to the hedgehog, who was still staring at the ring. “Are you going to put it back on?” Sonic didn’t really want to, but at the same time he felt compelled to do it. He hesitated once, then put it back on. Almost immediately, it tightened to the point where it could not be moved. 

**_Thank you._ **

“You’re back?” he said, getting strange looks from the others.

**_Yes, we are._ **

“Again with the we? What are you, anyway? You’re definitely not me.”

**_But I am._ **

“How?”

The voice kept silent.

“Er, Sonic, who are you talking to?” Ali asked.

He realized that everyone was looking at him, and he desperately tried to make an excuse. “I was just, um, making – I mean practicing for…”

Giving up, he leaned deeper into the sofa. “There’s this voice that sometimes speaks in my head.” Knowing how that sounded, he added, “I’m not going crazy, I swear! It’s only talked to me once before…”

Knuckles looked like he was on the verge of laughing. “What does it usually say to you?”

“Uh, just weird and vague stuff. Last time, it told me to find Ali because ‘he had the answer’…whatever that means.”

“It did?” Ali was surprised. “But why?”

He shrugged. “No clue.”

“Who could it be, though?” Amy wondered. “Maybe it’s a ghost!”

“I have no idea – it could be anything,” he said. “It’d be nice if it stopped giving me the silent treatment every few seconds.”

**_Do forgive me._ **

“What, again?!” he cried. When there was no further response, he looked back at his friends with a nervous grin. “Heh, yeah…it likes to speak at random times, too.”

Tails seemed vaguely interested. “We’ll have to talk about that later,” he said. “Right now we need to talk about **it**.”

“…Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Right now, as in right _now_?”

**_“Sonic.”_ **

He flinched at the tone. “Alright, I get it. But I’d rather talk about this later.”

“It’s best not to pressure him,” Roshan broke in. “Only time will tell us the truth.” 

_Do I really want to tell them? On the one hand I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened. But, they also deserve to know. What should I do?_

“They really didn’t do anything to me, I just had to fight some people,” he said. Amy crossed her arms.

“Explain, then, what the purpose of the chair we found you in was.” Sonic rushed to think of a good excuse, but even his brief silence was more than enough to alert the group. “So the scars on your neck were from that.” He still tried to protest, but Amy wasn’t letting herself hear any of it. “Why are you trying to hide it? Because you’re ashamed? Because you feel weak?”

“No…”

“Then why?”

“Because _that’s not me_. I don’t dwell on things, there’s really no point. It’s better to just keep moving…even if it hurts…”. He whispered the last part, but Amy still caught it.

She decided to leave it alone for the time being, seeing that Sonic was close to tears already. “Okay, then.” She turned to the others. “How about we all just relax for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Wait,” Tails said. “I almost forgot to ask – what was your last wish?”

“Oh, er, well, I – I just wished that Firuzeh…no longer existed,” his double replied, seeming to realize the full reality of his words. A stunned silence fell over the room.

“Why would you wish that?” Amy asked.

“I don’t know! I was upset and I didn’t really think about it.” Ali twisted his tails nervously. “I made another mistake…”

Tails was quick to console him. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”

“But I killed her!”

“The one person who was hurting Sonic,” Amy corrected. “If anything, you did this world a favor. I only hammered her into the wall.”

Ali didn’t say anything for a long while. “Maybe you’re right. But it doesn’t make me feel any better,” he whispered.

“It doesn’t have to,” Roshan interjected again.

Tails nodded. “They’re right. But I do think it’s time for us to relax a bit, no more sad talk.”

They all agreed.

-

“Hurry it up, men!” she yelled. “There’s three hours until sundown and we only got half of this ship unloaded!”

“We’re moving as fast as we can, but Abbas and Ahmad refuse to stop lounging around,” one of them grumbled. Rouge rolled her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll take care of those two. You just keep working.”

“Yes, captain.”

She walked briskly over to them, hands placed on her hips in a disapproving fashion. “What do you think you’re doing, exactly?” They startled, jumping to their feet and hammering out unintelligible excuses as they rushed to get back to work. She smirked. “Just as I thought.”

Dark clouds were beginning to gather overhead, the pleasantness of sunshine quickly being replaced with the force of a cool wind. Rouge frowned as she looked back at her men. _At the speed they’re going, we’re going to get stuck out in the rain. I still don’t know where the others are, but maybe here I can ask around. Someone has to have seen them._

“Keep it moving! We’ve got to unload everything before the storm hits!” she yelled again. The men echoed back their acknowledgement. “Seriously, why did I ever think it was a good idea to check up on him?”

She turned to watch the docks for a minute, noting that even the waves were starting to darken.

“When I get back, I’m totally taking a week off.”


	17. Deep in the Lull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonic and Amy set off on a road trip.

“A trip to the sea?” Sonic asked.

“Yes, some of my shipments come in that way. I would like you and Amy to retrieve it.”

“Why just us, though?”

“I do need _some_ help in the shop,” Roshan said. “And it will give you something to do as well, instead of just lazing around.”

Sonic tried to protest. “I was not, I was just feeling kind of…tired, is all.”

“Does that mean you’re ready to talk?”

“Uh…so how far is the ocean from here? Do I have to get on a boat?”

Roshan decided to ignore Sonic switching topics for the time being. “No, only to the docks. Once you get there, ask around for Simin and tell her that I sent you. She’ll know what to do from there.”

“Okay,” Sonic said. “So what time do we have to leave?”

“Right now.”

“What?”

They hummed. “If you leave now, you can make it to Borazjan by nightfall.” Gesturing to the drawer beside the sofa, they added, “There is a map in there, with the route you need to take already drawn out. Don’t lose it.”

“I won’t,” Sonic promised. “Does Amy already know?”

“Yes. She should be waiting for you now.”

-

Rouge woke up to the sound of someone banging on her door. “What is it?”

“Sorry to bother you from your nap, captain, but the ship will be setting off soon and we were just wondering where our next course will be.”

She groaned. “Fine, just go back up. I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Yes, captain.”

_I’ve been here for two days and no one has seen the others, no matter how many times I asked. …Maybe it’s time I quit playing captain and just ditched these guys. I’m sure they’ll be fine without me._

“Captain?”

Rouge scrambled to her feet. “Coming!”

-

“How far is it to the next town?”

Amy quickly checked the map. “About fourteen minutes.”

“I wish I still had my shoes,” he bemoaned. “It sucks having to walk everywhere in these.”

She tried to be cheerful. “Don’t worry, when we get back home I’m sure Tails will make you a new pair!” It didn’t have much effect, as Sonic remained trapped in his distant state. _Quick,_ Amy thought, _there has to be something to make him be in a better mood!_ Then she had an idea.

“Maybe you don’t have to walk everywhere,” she said.

“Huh?”

“You have some new powers as a djinn now, right? Like floating and stuff? You can just do that instead of walking.”

The memory of the last time flashed through his mind. “That didn’t…work out so well when it happened before. I ended up stuck on the ceiling.” She tried to hide a laugh.

“Just try to focus,” Amy assured him. “It might help if you do it with a specific goal in mind.”

“No thanks, I’d rather not risk floating off into the sun.”

She crossed her arms. “So you want to walk all the way there in _those_ shoe – “

Amy let out a cry of surprise when she was suddenly swept off the ground, Sonic holding a determined face above her. “It wouldn’t hurt to try again, I guess,” he admitted. “Since I’m stuck with it, might as well put them to use.”

“Yes!” she cheered. “Now just – “

“Keep my focus, I remember,” he finished.

Amy waited for a few minutes before realizing that Sonic seemed to be reluctant. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure how I did it before,” he said. “I wasn’t even thinking about it, it just sort of happened.”

“How did it happen?”

“Um…I was talking to Ali, and then…” His foot tapped on reflex as he thought. “What did I do after that?”

Amy looked down, suddenly a bit nervous. “Sonic?”

“Hold on, I almost have it…”

“Sonic?”

“Wait, I think I remember now.”

**_“Sonic!”_ **

He broke out of his musing with slight annoyance. “What?”

Amy motioned with her eyes toward the ground. Suddenly having a bad feeling, he looked down. To his credit, he didn’t freak out right away like he had last time. Instead, he tried inhaling deeply and then releasing several times. “This is okay,” he managed. “This is totally fine.”

She gave him a deadpan stare. “Sonic, we’re floating ten feet in the air. How is any of this okay?”

“Because _I am in control,_ ” he said, more for his sake than hers.

_The weight is on your feet. Feel it pulling you to the ground._ He repeated it a few times until he saw that it wasn’t working. He wasn’t getting higher, but he wasn’t any closer to the ground, either.

**_You are doing much better than I had hoped._ **

_...Okay, now it might be time to panic._ “Sonic.” Amy’s voice brought him back to reality again. “I think you can do it now.”

“What do you mean, now? I’m trying to get closer to the ground but – “

“Maybe this is a sign it isn’t supposed to happen yet.”

He stopped, considering her words. “Well…okay,” he conceded. “I’ll give it a try.” She smiled in approval.

-

“Wow,” Tails said. “So you can make potions of any kind? Not just for healing?”

Roshan nodded. “Many people require many things, and there is no shortage of people who are unrequited, or heartbroken, or who simply want to escape for a while. These potions help with that.”

“Wow,” he repeated. “And you sell enchanted items too? Like dolls and statues?”

“Yes. Most of them are used for simple tasks, as you have seen mine. Some are used for more extreme purposes.”

“How long have you been in this business?”

“About sixteen years,” they replied after a moment of thought. “I started when I was thirty – two. Before that I’d been traveling around the continent for four years, collecting all these items.”

“That’s so cool.”

“Indeed.”

Tails fell silent briefly, before asking, “There’s something I’ve been wondering about lately. You seemed like the best person to ask, so…”

“Oh?” Roshan said, slightly intrigued. “What is it?”

“It’s about Sonic’s ring – how exactly does that work?” They opted to move to the sofa, settling back as they knew it was going to be a long explanation.

“You should make yourself comfortable,” they said. “It won’t exactly be over soon.”

Tails did as they said, and Roshan began to speak.

“The first djinns to be bound to a ring were owned by King Solomon. One day, the djinn known as Sakhr took his ring out of jealousy while he was away, claiming the throne as his own and exiled the king as an eternal wanderer. The Lord then had Sakhr abandon the ring into the river, where it was found by the king. The djinn was promptly imprisoned into a bottle – he would be the first to be bound to that object.”

“That is how the cycle of the ring started, and it is why such a fate has befallen your friend.”

“Is there any way to undo it?”

Roshan smiled wistfully. “He asked a similar question in the beginning. I told him that only death or a wish to be free would do it.”

“Oh…”

Then something occurred to Tails. “Wait, if all djinn are bound to an object, why didn’t Ali just wish him free in the first place?”

“That is for Ali to say, not I,” they replied. “But if one wishes a djinn free, then that person would take their place. It is how it is.”

“…Then, what if, someone wished for the object to no longer be magical? Would that work?”

They looked surprised. “Perhaps. I had never considered such a possibility.” Tails got to his feet and took off. _I need to tell the others about this, and if it really would work…I bet Sonic would love that._

_-_

“Welcome to Marvdasht!” a merchant called out. The rest soon joined him, noticing the newcomers’ presence. Amy looked around at the shops in wonder.

“Instead of fourteen minutes, we got here in five!” she said. “Flying can be pretty useful, huh, Sonic?”

He begrudgingly agreed. “Would’ve gotten here a lot faster than five minutes if I had my shoes, though…”

“Oh, lighten up!” Amy scoffed. “We’re making good progress! If you fly us the rest of the way we won’t even have to wait until night to get to Borazjan. Or would you rather walk again? Maybe I can find a decent pair of shoes here…”

She started to wander off, pondering over how many shops she could visit before they had to leave. Sonic quickly caught up, marveling over some of the wares himself.

“Hey, you.” A hand grabbed his shoulder, forcing the hedgehog to turn around. Staring down at him was a rather gruff man, one that he knew he hadn’t seen before but yet felt incredibly familiar. “You’re the devil from Firuzeh’s mansion, aren’t you? I thought your aura felt the same.”

“Uh…”

The man suddenly broke into a grin. “So it is you!” He leaned down close and whispered, “I just wanted to say thanks. After Firuzeh died there was enough chaos among everyone that I was able to slip out unnoticed. I’ve been wanting to get out for years, but the pressure was too great.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, of course!” Sonic replied. He gave him a thumbs up.

The stranger chuckled. “Nice work of you to take her out like that. I assume that was one of your wishes, right?”

The hedgehog nodded.

“And I see you’re wearing the ring now. It’s great to be master free, isn’t it?” He held up a small bottle. “Never taking one again. Oh, and the name’s Ardashir. If you ever come by this way again, just ask for me. I’ll give you a place to stay.” With that, he winked and disappeared into the crowd.

Amy found him a moment later still staring in a daze at the spot where the man had been. “Sonic? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am. Did you find anything?”

“Not really, just a pair of socks. What do you say we grab a snack before we leave town?”

He shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

-

Rouge was not having the best time. It had started out smoothly – she had set the course, had an early dinner, then gone back to finish her nap – when yet another sound woke her from it.

This time, it was the sound of thunder.

She cursed her luck as she ran above deck, immediately taking to barking orders at her men. Her luck wasn’t all that bad, however, as they managed to secure most of the loose cargo by the time the worst of the storm was over.

“Alright, men, that’s enough,” she said. “Put whatever’s not tied down in storage and get to bed. Those of you on night duty, don’t forget to eat something. We got a long day of sailing ahead of us tomorrow.” They echoed their agreement, leaving her temporarily alone on the deck. “What have I gotten myself into?” she asked for what felt like the hundredth time. “I can’t bring myself to ditch them, no matter how much I want to.”

_But how am I supposed to find them this way?_

_-_

The two hedgehogs sat out on the roof of the abandoned house they had found, both just finishing up their snack.

“Hey, Amy?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you…think any of this is strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, well, I just – I couldn’t help but wonder what you thought about all this.” He made a vague gesture to the scenery around them. Then he whispered, “And what you thought about this.”

She glanced over, confused. “This?”

Sonic tapped the ring softly, and the girl’s eyes widened. _Oh…has that been bothering him the whole time? What I thought?_ Clearing her throat, she answered, “I still feel the same way about you, Sonic. To me, you haven’t changed a bit, ring or not. You’re still the same confident, excitable and super fast hedgehog I met all those years ago. So what if you wear a ring now? It doesn’t change who you are at all, and honestly I find it a bit ridiculous that you would let it.”

She didn’t give him a chance to speak as she continued without a single breath. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but if you think even for one _second_ that that ring somehow changes our friendship, or with Tails or Knuckles, then you got another thing coming.” Amy jabbed a finger towards his face. “Let me tell you, I have been by your side from the moment I met you and not even any of this – “ she repeated the gesture he had made earlier, “ – will change that, you got me? The same goes for Tails and Knuckles too, and even Ali. None of us will leave your side.”

Sonic seemed to be at a loss for words, the pink hedgehog almost thinking she saw tears form at the edge of his eyes. Finally, he looked over at her again. “Thanks,” he whispered. Amy nodded in satisfaction. She jumped off the roof and stared expectantly up at him.

“Are we gonna get flying again or what?”

He gave a soft smile. “Yeah, sure, just let me get down first.”

_At this rate, we’ll be there in no time._


	18. That Which Lives in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares and ominous vibes ensue

“Well, we’re here,” Amy announced. “Good old Shiraz, and to think it only took us twenty minutes instead of forty – eight!”

_Yeah,_ Sonic thought, _but I still would’ve preferred to run… ._ He shook his head. _Can’t think like that._ Out loud, he asked, “How far until the next town?” Amy checked the map.

“An hour,” she said. Already knowing his reaction, she quickly hushed him. “It’s not that far if we fly again!”

“It took us twenty minutes to get _here_ , and that wasn’t even a whole hour!”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not that bad, Sonic. It would take us even longer if we were walking – we wouldn’t even be halfway to the town right now!”

“And we’d be at the ocean by now if I still had my running shoes!”

“But you don’t,” she said. “We just have to make the best of what we have. Flying takes longer than running, but I’m sure that’s just because you’re not used to it! It’s certainly way faster than walking.”

_Sometimes I hate it when I can’t argue with your logic._

Seeing the defeat on his face, Amy smirked. “I am right,” she said matter of factly. “Let’s get moving, then. We don’t have all day.”

-

_This isn’t so bad,_ Rouge thought. _A cool wind, a sky full of stars…and I got a neat hammock out of it, too._ She listened to the creak of the ship as it cut through the water, and to the footsteps of her men only feet away as they whispered and manned the wheel.

“Captain!”

_Just my luck. I **had** to jinx it. _“What?”

The man pointed behind him. “There’s something out there we think you should see.”

She got up, stretching her wings and following him to the upper deck. Nothing jumped out at her at first, though she kept her eyes trained on the horizon. “What is it I’m supposed to be looking at?”

“Out there in the distance,” he said. “There’s only half a ship floating by.” Rouge squinted, now barely able to make out its distinct shape against the darkness.

“It’s probably one that wasn’t as lucky in the storm. We should just leave it be,” she said. “Keep your focus on the path I set out and don’t forget to switch shifts every hour until dawn.”

“Yes, captain.”

She looked back at the ship one last time as she returned to her hammock, unable to shake the sinking feeling of danger.

-

“Flying is a lot nicer than the ground, huh…” Amy whispered drowsily, not even trying to keep her eyes open. “You can see so many more things…”. Sonic didn’t answer, already having slipped away. She yawned and fell into the abyss as well. 

The peace for one did not last long, unfortunately.

_“Are you having a good time, Sonic?” she asked. “I hope not, because you’re here instead to learn a very valuable lesson.” His feet were bolted to the floor, arms tied above him as the rope pulled tightly. The iron wedge dug deep into his back, but he refused to cry out._

_She leaned closer to him. “I know it was you who granted that wish. You thought you could escape that easily?” Firuzeh had the rope tightened, the strain on his arms almost unbearable._

_“I’ll have you join us, Sonic, one way or another.”_

The dream switched.

_He was in the arena again, the crowd cheering around him as Azar strengthened her hold on him. Breathing escaped him, spots forming at the edge of his vision. He tried to force her hands off, but for some reason they weren’t responding that well._

_Azar snarled at him. “You still think this is a game? This is the real world. We fight to survive here. They already forced you to take a life, so is this your repentance?”_ _He mouthed the words, barely hanging on, but she seemed to understand all the same._

_“It is what they do to every newcomer here,” she explained. “Or the ones who are too rebellious. They are given a sort of hypnotic drug that lowers their willpower and makes them more susceptible to external influence, hence why they are more willing to fight. They did the same to you. Do you not remember when the wolf bit you?”_

_She loosened her grip a little, taking pity on him. “They had injected the wolf with the same kind of hypnosis, and when it bit you, it spread through contact. That is why – or how – you kill. It is all of our fates.”_

The dream flipped again, this time sending him back to Firuzeh.

_She was waiting for him, a dark grin on her face. Sonic was strapped back into the chair, but he didn’t feel anything stabbing into him like before. “_ _You want to get out of being a djinn so badly?” the woman asked. “The answer is simple – just end it. How is up to you. You can let go right now, or you can endure the pain and then join us.”_

_“You’re dead,” he insisted. She smiled thinly._

_“Not to you.”_

_Something was stuck to the top of his head, while another set of straps were fastened over his chest. A bag was placed over his head, ad Sonic couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit of fear. “What are you doing?”_

_“How do you like it?” she asked. “Burned or well done?”_

_Before he could answer, he heard the humming get louder._

_-_

Amy awoke to the sound of sobbing. She bolted up out of bed, taking a moment to realize it was only Sonic. He had curled up into a tight ball under the bedcovers, the tears seemingly having no end. She moved the sheet back cautiously, unsure of what to do. Attempting to shake him only made his quills flare up in defense, so she opted to go for the head. She ran her fingers over the top of his fur, and eventually got him to calm down.

“Sonic?”

“…Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Mmm…”

She wasn’t sure what that meant, so she decided to press on. “You were crying pretty loud. What was the nightmare about?” He sat up suddenly, whether in surprise or indignation she didn’t know.

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t – “

Amy put her hands on her waist and glared. “Your crying _woke me up,_ Sonic, and now I am not going back to sleep until you tell me what it is.”

“It’s four in the morning,” he muttered. “Can’t we talk about this later?”

“For you, later will never come.”

They had a staring contest, Amy using her all to force the other to lose. “You know something, Sonic?”

“What?”

“I totally get why you like chili dogs so much now.”

He almost blinked at that. “What are you talking about?”

Amy pointed behind him. “Because one shows up at your window every night.” Sonic did give in at that statement, turning around to see for himself.

“Ha! I win!” she exclaimed.

He pouted. “That’s not fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war,” she responded, sitting down. “Now, are you going to tell me? Because I will wait all night if I have to.”

“…It wasn’t really that bad.”

“Then why were you crying so hard about it?”

“I don’t know.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, you do.”

Silence.

“Was it about the mansion? Or Firuzeh? The chair?”

“Mmm.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything, Sonic.”

He fidgeted a bit. “It did sort of, maybe…have to do with all three?”

“What happened in it?”

“It…she…” he took in a deep breath. “It…”

Amy moved over to his bed, wrapping an arm around him gently. “It’s alright,” she whispered. Faint tears sprung from the corner of his eyes.

“T – the first time, she tried to – to b – break my arms,” he gasped. “Then she ha – had me fight and kill a – and there was iron – _the floor was iron_ , and it hurt s – so much. She tried to break my spi – spine too…I guess that was when you found me…”

She looked at his scars. “Is that where they came from?” He gave a small nod.

“What happened in your dream?”

“I was back in the room, with the weights and – and the chair, but this time it was di – different…it was everywhere.”

“What was?”

Tears started to fall freely now as he curled up and covered his ears. “Everywhere. The humming, and the pain. I couldn’t breathe, o – or move. I couldn’t even see. It felt like my insides were melting.”

“…Well, it was just a dream, Sonic. You don’t have to worry about any of that anymore, okay? She’s gone and I’m right here.”

“But what if she comes back? She was in the dream, she knew about the wish, she – “

Amy gripped his shoulders. “Look at me, Sonic. That her wasn’t real, just part of your fears.” He looked confused, so she continued.

“Your memories can sometimes be an influence on your dreams, and combined with your fear can explain why you saw her. Not because she came back.”

The speedster didn’t seem that reassured, but allowed himself to be held in a tight hug. “It’s okay, Sonic,” she said. “If I sleep on your side for the rest of the night, would that make you feel better?”

“Mm…maybe a little.” Amy smiled.

“Okay, then.” She curled up next to him, holding on tight.

-

Rouge should’ve been in her hammock. But instead, she had been up for the past hour trying to keep her men from panicking. _All because that stupid ship won’t disappear_ _,_ she thought. The ship itself wasn’t the main concern, the torn red flag on it was.

“Like I said before, it probably just got the worst of it in the storm! There’s **_absolutely_** no reason to think they’re after us!”

“Then why hasn’t it gone away yet?!” Faridoon shouted. “It’s only half a ship, it should have sunk by now!”

She resisted the urge to snap. “I think we’re all just tired, and seeing things. We’ve been up for hours. It’ll be dawn soon, we should all get to bed a bit early and have the others start their day."

The men hesitated, and the temptation to lose it grew even more.

“Look,” Rouge said in her calmest voice, “I am very tired. I did not get a lot of sleep because I spent most of the night up trying to console your crying faces about a broken ship that may not even be there! So I am going to get what I missed out on, and I _strongly_ suggest you do the same, or you can all stay up here squabbling. Whichever you prefer. Good night.”

She didn’t bother to witness their astonished gazes as she departed for the hammock, soon swinging in blissful silence. _I change my mind about not leaving these guys…as soon as I find the others it is goodbye!_ _Still…that ship, if it really is there, gives me the most ominous feeling. I don’t like it at all._

_-_

“You awake?”

Amy cracked an eye open. “Just now, yeah.”

“Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she yawned. “What is it?”

He was quiet for a long while. “Are you really sure you’re okay with this?” Amy opened the other eye.

“You’re still on that?”

“Uh…”

She shook her head, sitting up. “Never mind that. If it’s bothering you that much, we can talk about it.”

“…I’m just not that used to it yet,” he whispered. “I know I probably should be, because it’s already been so long, but I – I don’t know. There’s something keeping me back.”

“Is it because of the whole master thing?”

“Maybe…I just don’t like having to be _tied_ to one person, you know? And I can’t even take the ring off, either. Sure, the flying is kind of cool, but I’d trade that in for my speed in a heartbeat. And all the new powers and weaknesses – it’s just a little much.”

Amy turned around and nearly smashed her face into the pillow. “So you prefer staying as you were?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“I’m sure there’s a way to fix this,” she said. “Roshan might know something, and when we get back we can ask them.” Sonic considered that possibility. “If I were you, I’d try to make the most of it. Your flying has already come in handy, who knows how your other powers might help us?” 

Amy didn’t wait to see if he had a reply, she simply yawned again and fell back to sleep. Sonic remained awake long after, staring at the ceiling in a daze as he thought.

_She might be right again…but even if she is, how am I supposed to get over everything to use them without feeling wrong? ...The ring I’d actually be okay with if it didn’t mean that I’d be forced to obey the wishes of whichever person came along._

**_It will do us no good to be troubled._ **

_Oh, it’s you. Why have you been so silent, anyway?_

**_I have been simply observing._ **

_Me?_

**_Yes. It is important that I fully understand the ones who are bonded, and you are no different._ **

_Bonded…what does that mean, exactly?_

**_Ever since the djinn have enchanted us with magic and life, we have needed a certain bond to sustain us. We were offered their lifeforce as that bond, and it has been that way ever since._ **

_Wait, back up. Lifeforce? You don’t mean –_

**_Yes. The life and soul of the bearer of the object is the source of our connection. If you were to die, then so would I._ **

_…But when Shahra died, nothing happened to the ring._

**_Because you were there._ **

_What?_

**_It is true that I would have perished immediately, had I not been able to bond with you. For that, I am truly grateful._ **

Sonic felt a chord of anger hit him. _Is there any way to undo it?!_

**_Death, or being wished to be freed or to have us no longer be enchanted._ **

_You mean you?_

_**Us.** _

_Right…so, I just have to have someone wish it? Amy’s right there, I can get her –_

**_Wishing upon a Genie of the Ring requires the ring to be worn by the master. We are not the same as the lamp or the bottle, where physical contact is optional._ **

_Okay, can you stop saying ‘we’ like that? It’s starting to weird me out._

**_I do not tell lies._ **

_It’s bad enough that I’m hearing voices in my head, but you don’t have to go make it all creepy by insisting that we’re ‘we’. I mean, you’re ‘we’. I am? God, now I don’t even know what I’m saying!_

**_We are we. That is all._ **

_Why do you keep saying that?!_

**_Perhaps it would be better to show you._ **

_What –_

The ring suddenly began to glow, the white light enveloping the whole room. _What are you doing?_ he thought in a panic, but the ring did not give an answer.

Its light then abruptly vanished, and Sonic the Hedgehog was no more.


	19. Two Faced

When he opened his eyes, there was nothing but white, the silence deafening. “Hello?”

**_Welcome._ **

“What is this place?”

**_This is the inner sanctuary of the ring._ **

Sonic brightened in realization. _I think Erazor mentioned something like this…the mukad?_

**_The muqaddas jagah – the holy place._ **

“Right,” he said. “So what am I doing here?”

**_To see._ **

The white light began to dim, giving way to infinite darkness. **_This is our sanctity, where our bond is strongest. It is here that you will see who we are._** Something glowed faintly in the distance, slowly becoming more opaque as it got closer. Sonic watched it warily until it was visible, but he was not at all prepared to see himself staring back.

He took a step back instinctively. “What – why do you look just like me?” The doppelganger stopped, then also moved backwards.

**_I always reflect the appearance of us,_** it said. **_There is no reason to be afraid, I desire no harm to come to us._**

“Why did you suck me in here, though? You weren't really clear before..."

**_To show you._ **

“Okay…”

The clone gestured outwards, and the darkness faded into a very recent memory. “Wait, this is when Shahra – “

**_When my previous bond perished, I, too, was in danger of death. Fortunately, you were wearing the ring at the time._** It looked towards the fallen djinn, then back at Sonic. **_I understand that this is not ideal for you, but it is the only way for me to survive._**

“…So that’s it, then? I’m stuck?”

It tilted its head, seemingly confused. **_You value freedom, do you not?_**

“What does that have to do with this?”

**_Your mentality is irregular,_** it said. **_It is indeed common for one to find it difficult to accept change, but you have only been focused on one thing since it began._**

“Well, it hasn’t been easy, okay?” He started to pace back and forth. “I’ve been dealing with it the best I can, but I don’t even want to be here! I don’t _want_ this ring or these powers, okay? You said at the beginning that there was a way out, and that’s what I want to do!”

**_Then you will give me to another?_ **

Sonic stopped. “Well, yeah…but, wait, if you were no longer magical, then you wouldn’t exist anymore, right?”

**_Correct._ **

“And you’re okay with that?”

It looked straight at him, its lack of facial features slightly unnerving. **_I am not capable of existing in a solid form outside of this space, so it would not matter to me if I were to cease._**

“Well…” Sonic wasn’t entirely convinced, but he let it go for the moment. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

**_Yes._ **

He gave it a thumbs up. “Okay, good. If you don’t mind, maybe you could let me out of here…?”

**_No._ **

“…What?”

**_I cannot let you out._ **

Sonic glared at the doppelganger. “Why not?”

**_You still seek the path to inner balance? I have the power to help us with that._ **

He backed up even more, unsettled by his lookalike’s tone. It began to glow again, though it was brighter than before. Forced to cover his eyes, he failed to notice it reaching for him. A strange sensation came over him, his fur suddenly standing on end. He felt a sense of distance within his mind as its voice spoke again.

**_Sleep._ **

**-**

Amy didn’t know what to do. She had woken up to find Sonic gone, the only evidence he’d been there had been his ring, sitting innocently on the pillow. Despite a thorough inspection, she had spotted nothing out of the ordinary. “What the heck is going on?” she asked herself. “I thought he couldn’t take the ring off.” A light flashed before her eyes, causing her to shield them. When she looked again, Sonic was sitting neatly on the bed.

She took one look at him and promptly screamed.

Oddly enough, the other hedgehog didn’t move a muscle at all during her freak out. She barely kept herself from running out of the room, instead placing a hand over her heart and taking in as much air as possible.

Once she was sure she could deal with this in a more professional manner, she slowly approached the speedster. “Sonic?” He swiftly turned his head to look at her, though she did her best not to be startled.

“Yes?” Despite not having a mouth, he somehow spoke clearly.

“What happened to you?”

“Nothing has happened.”

“Then why do you look like that?”

He raised a hand to his face. “Why I lack any defining features?”

“Uh…yeah?”

“It is merely a temporary effect,” he said. “There is no reason to worry.”

“Effect of what? You taking over his body? I don’t know what you are, but give him back!” she cried.

The thing masquerading as Sonic seemed to find that amusing. “I cannot take over what is already mine, I am only making good use of it.” Amy was stunned.

“Then what are you planning to do?” If he had had a mouth at that moment, she was sure he would have smiled.

-

_Sonic was back in the real world, although he wasn’t sure why. A crowd of people stood not too far away, gathered around something._ _“What’s going on?” he wondered, moving a bit closer. One of the guests spotted him and called out._

_“Hey, why are you over there? We’re about to eat the cake.”_ _He was pushed forward to the center, eyes widening once he saw who was there._

_“I’m so glad you could make it, Sonic,” she said. “The party just wasn’t the same without you.”_

_Backing away was futile, as the crowd had formed a tight – knit line behind him. “There’s no point in trying to leave when you just got here. We still have so many things planned.” Firuzeh advanced, grinning maliciously._ _Someone grabbed him by the arms, pinning them back as someone else forced him down face first. She kneeled by him, yanking one of his ears up to be better heard. “A word of advice for you – don’t scream.”_

_-_

“Why do you insist on this head covering?”

“Why do you think?” Amy snapped. “Because nobody wants to see a face that has nothing on it.”

“My apologies.”

She grumbled. “If you’re going to apologize, do it for taking his mind hostage. Or better yet, give him back.”

“I cannot.”

Amy spun around to face him, temper rising. “Give me one good reason why – “

“I brought him into our space so that he could fulfill his goal of learning inner balance. We will not progress forward otherwise.” She threw her hands up in the air.

“So this is your solution? Hijack his body and take away his own _face?_ He doesn’t even have ears or a nose anymore, thanks to you!” She shuddered. “It’s creepy to look at…”

“I assure you,” he said, “he is a part of us. I would not harm myself.”

_This is getting me nowhere._ “Fine, then. How long until he learns whatever it is and gets out?”

“It is hard to say – it could be mere hours or many years,” he replied. “Inner balance is not something that comes easy. How long it takes for him – well, it is only his choice to make.”

Amy was quiet for a minute. “So what, then? You’re just going to use his body until he learns it? What if it takes ten years? Are you really going to spend that long in it?”

He shrugged, not appearing to be that worried. “If it takes ten years, then so be it.”

_I’m not waiting that long to get Sonic back,_ she thought, not so subtly glaring at the other hedgehog. _And I’ll do whatever it takes._

_-_

_Everything hurt._

_He couldn’t keep his eyes open, weary from being forced to fight in the arena. Except – that wasn’t quite right._ _A sharp pain tore through his arms, cruelly reminding him of the fact that he had been tied down to stakes. Fierce heat was underneath him, the occasional crackle alerting him to a familiar feeling of terror._

_“Having fun yet?”_

_He tried to turn his head, but it only made him feel dizzy. “What do you think you’re doing this time?”_

_“Dinner, of course,” she chuckled. “Lucky you, you’re the guest of honor!”_

_“…You’re beyond messed up, you know that?”_

_Firuzeh chuckled again. “Why, thank you,” she mocked. Strong_ _hands pulled up the stakes, another pair holding him while it was put closer to him._

_The flames reached higher as they lowered him down._

_“Please,” he begged. “Just let me go.” She sneered at him._

_“Do you know the reason why you’re here?”_

_“…To join you?”_

_“No.”_

**_One of us,_ ** _a voice echoed. The crowd quickly joined in, chanting louder and louder as they surrounded the two._ _Then in the blink of an eye, it all disappeared. Sonic was back on his feet, the doppelganger from before standing in front of him. **Are you ready now?**_

_“What – did you do that?”_

**_I apologize if any of that was upsetting for you. It was only one of many ways it could be done._ **

_“What could be done?_ _The heck does that mean?”_

_It ignored him. **How do you feel about Firuzeh now?**_

_“What?” Sonic was dumbfounded. “What does that have to do with anything? Or was this whole thing some kind of test? What are you really planning, anyway? Are you even on my side?”_ _A quiet laugh rang through the air, the faceless figure moving closer._

**_Of course I am,_ ** _it replied. **I do not tell lies, and I do not wish to harm us. I am merely helping us to find peace within ourselves.**_

_“…What the fuck.”_

_He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All of this – the whole nightmare – had been some crazy plan to get him to find peace? “I’m done with this,” he said, turning to leave. “Just get me out of here already.”_

**_You are still scared of her. That is why you run from this._ ** _Sonic turned back around, ready to refute, but his clone was having none of it. **This will not end until you learn to accept.**_

_“Accept what?” He crossed his arms. “Being held captive by a sentient object?”_

**_That you have changed._ **

_It was suddenly deathly quiet._

**_You are resisting it because you are afraid, not just of Firuzeh, but also of yourself. The idea that someone could have power over you – you find that terribly frightening, and so run from it. But running away only makes it worse._ ** **_Once you have accepted it, we are ready to move on._ **

_“Then why didn’t you just say that from the start?”_

**_Would you not have resisted again? You were scared of Firuzeh, and that is why you ran, didn’t you?_ **

_“…No. Maybe.” A flash of doubt crossed his mind. The doppelganger nodded in satisfaction._

**_You doubt yourself, your own truth, and you still reject the idea of being powerless, do you not?_ **

_“Well…” he trailed off. “It’s something I’m not entirely comfortable with yet. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll ever be.”_

**_But it is something that you can accept._ **

_Sonic didn’t say anything at first. “Maybe, I don’t know. I just know that I have to do it, even if I don’t like it.”_

_It nodded again, seemingly pleased with that answer. **You are doing well, albeit in small bits. I will release you for the time being, but you will be called in here again.**_

_“Wait, wh – “_

_-_

A sensation of falling caused him to open his eyes and jerk upright frantically. Amy was sitting next to him, visibly spooked. “Sonic?” she asked in a quiet voice. “You alright?”

“I think so,” he muttered.

“Where were you?”

“Huh?”

She looked beyond nervous. “There was someone pretending to be you, earlier. Said you had to accept something to be let out?”

“Oh, uh, yeah…what exactly do you mean by pretending? Like – “ She shook her head.

“No, it was definitely you, but there was someone else using it. And they – I mean, you…had no face.”

_I **had** to have misheard that._

“No face?” _Someone was walking around as me out here and they had no face?! Ugh, could this get any worse…_

Amy nodded. “Yeah. It looked just like you, but there was no mouth or eyes. Or even ears or a nose. Just nothing.” The blue hedgehog was at a loss, feeling a bit desperate.

“Did he do anything, or say anything?”

“He didn’t say who he was, just some stuff about you being ‘a part of us’, or he would refer to himself as ‘ourself’. Then he wanted to eat, so I had to take him outside. Where did you go, anyway?”

“Uh…I’m not entirely sure,” he said. “There was some stuff, about stuff, and then _he_ showed up with this complicated plan to make me accept change, or whatever." Amy was about to say something, then thought otherwise and remained quiet, thinking hard.

“Do you think it could have been the ring?” she asked. “When I woke up, that was the only thing here, even though I know it can’t come off.”

_Unfortunately,_ he thought, staring hard at it. _But when this is all over, it will be a different story._


	20. Abandoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new player appears on the world stage.

He had lost track of time an eternity ago, but he was still fairly certain that it had only been a couple of weeks since he’d cast out to sea. He was beyond grateful that the driftwood was still afloat, but he knew he would not last much longer in his weakened state.

Fighting to keep awake, he barely spotted the ship in the distance. His mind was just coherent enough to register it as a potential source of help, and he furiously began to swim towards it.

-

In hindsight, Rouge wished she hadn’t been the one to spot him first.

At first, all she had known was that there was a spot of red on the horizon. Despite logic telling her otherwise, she had commanded her men to get closer. It didn’t take them long to reach him, the winds generous in their forceful gusts today. She was at the side in an instant, peering over to get a glimpse of what she _hoped_ it was.

The gloves were the same, and from what she could see of the shoes, so were they. Purple eyes stared into her own, and she wasn’t sure if it was disappointment or relief that she felt. “Long time no see,” she said as soon as he was on deck. “How did you find yourself all the way out here?”

He regarded her with confusion. “The ship I was on left me behind, and I was forced to survive with only a piece of wood to keep myself afloat.”

“Oh?” Rouge was surprised. “It doesn’t seem like them to do that.”

“…No, it’s not,” the echidna agreed. “But sometimes life has unexpected plans.” He leaned back on the railing. “I don’t mean to be a bother, but would you kindly get me some food?”

_Worrying about food already? Sure sounds like him,_ she thought. She ordered a few of her men to go and prepare something, and at a few others to set up comfortable arrangements. _Perhaps not all hope is lost **just** yet. We can still find the others._

_-_

Secured safely in Sonic’s arms, many feet in the air, Amy was taking a moment to think. The incident with his faceless doppelganger still unsettled her. Part of her wanted to believe that it was all just a dream, but the other half knew their lives were too strange for that.

_What should I do if it comes back?_ she thought. _Ask it some more questions? Try to get some actual answers out of it? Take it out to lunch again? And…_ she snuck a glance at Sonic. _He didn’t seem to be that aware of it, so it’s possible he just goes to sleep. …But what if it’s worse? What if the thing traps him in his mind and he needs help but nobody can hear him?_

While Amy was lost in her own world, Sonic was having similar thoughts. They had been traveling most of the afternoon, neither of them having spoken a word to each other.

He was starting to doubt himself. _If getting possessed by something is this easy…what does that mean for me? Sure, my fighting skills are top notch, but that doesn’t say much if I can’t even fight something in myself._ _Have I – have I always been this weak? Or did it only happen because I’m still trying to adjust, and therefore had my guard down?_

He sighed internally in frustration, the uncertainty and doubt building up in his mind.

_Hey._

Something shivered deep inside him, but soon went still.

_Hey, you._

**… _What assistance are we in need of today?_**

_For the last time, stop using ‘we’. It’s creepy._

**_I cannot –_ **

_Tell lies, yeah, I know. You’ve said that already._

**_I cannot speak anything else._ **

_…Right. Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask._

**_What is it?_ **

_Why did you, um, pretend to be me this morning? Why not just talk to me from the start?_

**_It would have been stranger if there had been no explanation for our absence. I merely took the most logical approach._ **

_I guess that’s true…still, I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my body from now on. I don’t like feeling used._

The ring sounded surprised. **_What is so wrong about using what we are?_**

_Because it wasn’t yours originally,_ Sonic thought. _Before me there was someone else, right? And you considered that yours as well, didn’t you? So my mind isn’t yours…we’re just sharing it until you find someone new._

**_That was then, and this is now. Every djinn that I am bound to is a part of me. It is quite simple._ **

_Still, I…_ Sonic fell silent as he thought it over. _Just don’t do it again, okay? Not unless I ask first._

**_Very well._ **

**-**

He knew for a fact that she was crazy. Ever since he had his meal, she had been bothering him with questions about “the others”, to which he had insisted he knew nothing about.

“So you have absolutely no idea who Sonic or Amy or I am,” she said. He nodded.

She sighed. “Sorry, but I find it hard to believe that you don’t know. Unless you have amnesia?”

“I don’t believe I do,” he frowned.

“Okay then,” she said. “If you’re not who I thought, then who are you?”

“I’m Sinbad.”

Seeing her confusion, he explained. “I was on a voyage from Baghdad until I was marooned, and afloat for a very long while. I would have definitely perished out there had you not happened along.” He held out a hand. “I offer my gratitude.”

“Thank you? But it was really nothing. I would have helped **_anyone_** in need.” She snapped her head around to glare at her men, a few quietly laughing in disbelief.

“That’s good…” Sinbad said. “So tell me, in what direction are you headed?”

“East. We’re set to trade at some islands, so we’ll be at sea for more than a few months.”

His frown deepened, carefully weighing his options. “Is it possible for you to spare me a boat? I must get back to the mainland as soon as I can.”

“Yeah, we have a few,” she said. “But – “

“Then I’ll need supplies. Perhaps a day’s worth of food and a map?” he interrupted.

“Now just wait a minute – you don’t even know where the mainland is,” Rouge pointed out. “You’re gonna need someone to go with you.” She turned to address one of the men behind her. “Abnus, you go with him.”

The man startled, but quickly recovered. He bowed his head. “Of course, captain.”

“Gather the necessary supplies. You two will leave at once.”

The pirate and echidna looked at each other, the former a bit amused at the latter’s brevity. “I hope you have something good to share,” he said. “Been lacking a bit around here.”

-

“You okay, Sonic?”

“…Huh?”

“You’ve been kinda out of it for a while.”

“Oh, yeah…”

Amy watched him with concern, a heavy feeling of dread slowly rising. _Is the ring affecting him more than I thought?_ “Maybe we should stop for a bit,” she suggested. “You look like you could use a break.”

He shook his head. “No, I can do this. It’s not much farther, right?”

“Just about a few more miles, I think.” A weary grin appeared on his face. 

“That’s good…”

The wind suddenly roared in Amy’s ears, the sensation of rapid falling taking hold. “Sonic!” she screamed, locking her arms in a death grip around him as they plummeted towards the ground.

He was suddenly below her, Amy barely holding on as the ground got ever closer. She screamed his name again, but he remained motionless. In a last ditch effort, she spun him around so that he was now above, clutching onto him tightly as her back hit the ground with unfathomable force.

The last thing she heard was the sharp crack of her spine.

-

Abnus was not a half bad partner, the more Sinbad got to know him. He had a similar upbringing in the wealthy community, but had left as soon as he was able to pursue a “greater adventure”. He had been at sea for twelve years and did not regret a second of it.

“We’re still about five miles out from the ports,” the pirate said. “Since I told you my story, now you tell me one of yours. What’s your family like?”

“…For a long time, it was just me and my father. After he passed, he left his fortune to me and I was…unwise with it. So I decided to leave and try to become a better person.”

They were silent as Abnus rowed, the only sound being the water gently splashing against the side. “You’re a fine lad, you know what? Better vision than what I had when I started out.” He smiled a little. “I almost forgot there was such a thing as a great man.”

“Well, don’t sell yourself short,” the echidna reminded him. “It’d be a waste if you only let other people decide your value.”

Abnus seemed surprised at that statement, but then offered a much warmer grin. “You really have a way with words, don’t ya? Could make a fine living with that.”

Sinbad shook his head. “I only desire to right the wrong my father had gifted me,” he said.

“Huh…pretty straightforward, aren’t you? I definitely like you,” the pirate grinned. “It’s a shame you’re not coming with us. Wednesday nights on the deck are a party.” Sinbad cast a glance behind him, seeing the faint speck of the shore come into view. He grinned back.

“Yes, once I am done with my mission I may just take you up on that offer.”

-

_Bright._

_Everything is so bright._

_…I can’t open my eyes yet, the light hurts._

Amy stretched her fingers out, feeling the sand and rocks underneath. Her head felt like it had been split open, and she couldn’t feel the rest of her body at all. _What the hell happened?_

She tried to remember the last thing she had done, but all she could currently recall was the color blue and the sound of screaming. An attempt to lift her head up only resulted in a bolt of agony shooting through her skull. _Damn it…_

Sensing that there was someone close by, she did her best to wriggle over to them. Amy struggled to speak over being parched. “Sonic?” she croaked, but there was no answer. She moved her hand up to find his arm, easily locating his pulse. She breathed out a small sigh of relief. _Now to focus on getting myself up._ Her head still ached fiercely from the first try, so she settled for raising herself by her arms.

Luckily, they didn’t hurt as much. She would’ve stood up, but for some reason didn’t seem to have enough strength in her legs yet. She scooted herself closer to Sonic, opening her eyes. A quick inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Still, she knew she had to take precaution. She listened to his heartbeat, but it didn’t seem irregular. His breathing appeared to be steady as well.

“Sonic,” she whispered, gently shaking him. He groaned and tried to roll over, but she forced him back. “You gotta wake up.”

He mumbled something, but cracked one eye open. “What?”

“We fell,” she said.

He opened both eyes at that. “What?”

“We fell out of the sky,” she repeated. “You passed out, I think.”

“…Oh. I don’t remember that.”

“Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?”

“No, not really. Just feel kind of sore.”

Amy pointed towards the road. “We should get someone to look at you just in case.”

“No.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Oh, so you’d rather risk passing out again and causing us to fall? We won’t even have to stay that long, I promise.”

**_“No.”_ **

**_“Yes.”_ **

They had another staring contest, Amy unfortunately being the loser this time. “Fine,” she muttered. “We don’t have to get checked out.”

He nodded in satisfaction. Getting to his feet shakily, he only took a few steps before he realized that Amy wasn’t following. “What’s up?”

“You’re gonna – I mean…” she looked down in embarrassment. “I don’t have enough strength to walk right now, so you’re gonna – “

“Have to carry you?” She nodded.

“Alright then,” he sighed, walking back over. As he leaned down to pick her up, he noticed a bright red scar lining her back. “Amy…”

“What?”

“I don’t think I’m the only one who has to get looked at,” he said softly. She glanced up at him, confused.

“I feel fine, Sonic, honestly,” she insisted. “Sure, my head hurts a bit, but I don’t think it’s anything I can’t walk off – uh, you know what I mean.”

“Not that.”

“Then what?”

“…Maybe we should just camp here for the rest of the day. I’ll go to the nearest town and find some medicine.”

“What are you _talking_ about?”

He gave her a sharp glance. “Amy, there’s a huge wound on your back. You’re bleeding out.” The girl’s eyes widened in shock.

“Are – are you saying I’m going to die?” she shrieked.

Sonic swiftly picked her up, shaking his head. “Not if we can get you to a doctor first. I’ll run as fast as I can – how far did you say the nearest town was?”

“A few more miles…”

“Good.” _Still wish I had my shoes, but I should be able to run fast enough to cover that distance._

_I have to make it in time._


	21. A New Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wish can come at a terrible price

Sonic waited anxiously, hands and feet restless as the doctor took as slow as possible to finish bandaging up his patient. “Are you alright, son?” an elderly fox said.

“Yeah…just waiting for that doctor to – “

The man in question suddenly appeared at the doorway. “Sonic the Hedgehog?”

“Yes?”

He looked down at the anthro with a pleased expression. “Your friend is doing just fine. It’s a good thing you got here when you did, any longer and she would not have made it.” Before Sonic could reply, the doctor’s face became grave. He directed Sonic to another room, closing the door behind them.

“What’s all this about?”

“I’m sorry, young man.”

“Huh?”

He took a deep breath. “Although your friend will recover from the wound, it’s her legs that I’m worried about.”

“…What do you mean?”

“She told me that she had trouble with moving or feeling them, and it’s been more than an hour since the accident, correct?”

Sonic nodded.

“Well, I don’t mean to presume, but there is a fair chance that she will need assistance getting to and from places from now on.”

The hedgehog cracked a tiny grin. “What, you mean like she can’t walk? If this is a joke, it’s not very funny.”

“It’s not a joke.” 

A somber mood immediately settled, and the doctor couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity at the other’s crestfallen face. He placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a comforting smile. “I know this must seem bad, but her life is not over yet. She will just have to make some adjustments and she can still have a fulfilling life.”

**_It is indeed not over._ **

Sonic startled at the sudden voice, but refrained from speaking. _What? What do you mean?_

**_This situation is causing us too much distress. We will not remain in balance that way._ **

He did his best to appear neutral as they walked back to the main room, the doctor currently not suspecting anything. _So what, do you have some kind of meditation you want me to do?_

_**No.** _

The ring kept silent for the rest of the walk, though an inexplicable surge of anger rose in Sonic’s mind the moment he saw Amy. _It’s not worth getting worked up over,_ he reminded it. _All we can do is just adapt._

**_I should have told you._ **

Sonic stopped, ignoring the confused looks of the others. _Tell me what?_

**_I would have mentioned it sooner, but I did not think something like this would happen._ **

_…You mean you had something to do with this?!_

**_Using a physical form is quite exhausting for both involved. I do not require as much recovery time as you, since I by nature am not physical. But the toll it exerts can be dangerous without proper rest._ **

_So this is all your fault._ His tone was eerily calm, and they involuntarily flinched.

**_There is still a way this can be amended,_** the ring said. **_Do not think all hope is lost yet._**

_And what is that?_

**_If you give her the ring, she can wish to be healed._ **

He froze up. _No,_ he insisted. _I’m not doing that again._

**_Then I suggest staying on the ground more often, lest we – you – fall asleep again. It won’t do to have a repeat of the same accident._ **

“Sonic?”

He looked over to see Amy and the staff staring back at him in concern. “What is it?”

“Are you okay? You’re acting kind of weird…are you sure you don’t want to get checked out?”

“No, I’m good. Just spaced out for a bit, I guess. You feeling any better?” Amy frowned, recognizing his ploy but chose not to say anything for the moment.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I’m ready to get back on the road.”

He nodded. “So am I – still got a ways to go before we hit the ocean.” The doctor turned to him.

“If I might recommend a transport? You walked here, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah, sort of.”

“It would be easier for your young friend here, and I’m sure it’d be a relief for you as well.”

**_That would be useful._ **

_Shut up._

“That'd be good,” he said. “How long until it gets here?”

The doctor pointed to one of the staff. “She shouldn’t take any longer than five minutes.” The nurse quickly came over, introducing herself as Elaheh. She led the two outside and instructed them to wait as she got the vehicle ready.

“So…” he started. “Are you really feeling okay?”

Amy frowned and shook her head. “I _feel_ fine, but…I know what’s wrong with me.”

“Don’t be silly, there’s noth – “

“You don’t have to hide it from me, Sonic,” she said softly. “I can’t move my legs anymore, so I – I can’t walk. And that means I’ll just be a liability in battle.”

“That’s not true and you know it. You don’t have to be constantly fighting to prove your worth,” he insisted, but she shook her head again.

“If I can’t fight, then I’m just dead weight.” Something hummed in the back of his mind, but he did his best to ignore it.

“Look, Amy, I – “

“It’s ready!”

The two looked over to see Elaheh standing by their transportation, beaming widely. “I know it’s not much, but it gets the job done,” she assured them. “What town are you headed to next?”

“Dasht – E Arzhan, it’s only about twenty minutes from here.” The nurse grinned.

“Then it should take even less time now.”

-

He _knew_ the nurse was going as painfully slow as possible on purpose. Not to mention, there were no paved roads here, so he could feel every jolt it took when it passed over an uneven surface. But he had to put up with it. For Amy’s sake.

**_We could just let her use the ring._ **

_And I said no. So just drop it._

The ring continued to persist. **_She does have a point, however. If she stays the way she is now, she will prove to be a weakness in combat. Would not it be logical to correct that?_**

_There are still plenty of ways she can help out besides fighting,_ Sonic replied. _That’s not her only skill, you know._

**_But do her other skills make her happy?_ **

_I –_

**_It is quite clear to me that she is not._ **

_…You don’t know that._

**_I can see into our memories. They have proved otherwise._ **

Sonic made a small noise of protest, clenching his fist in anger. _You were poking around in my memories?!_

**_There is no harm in it._ **

_That’s not the point! It’s an invasion of privacy!_

**_How so?_ **

_Because it is. It just is. From now on, don’t do that._

**_Very well,_** the ring said, sounding amused. **_Now what do you suggest we do about her?_**

_I’m still not giving her the ring._

**_Really?_ **

_Yes._

It hummed, more of a vibration than a sound. His fur stood on edge, almost as if someone had used static electricity on it. “What are you doing?” he demanded. Amy looked over in surprise.

“I’m not doing anything,” she said. He suddenly had trouble focusing, everything becoming blurry and far away. He thought he heard Amy call out to him, but there wasn’t much else he could concentrate on as he fell into darkness.

-

Amy was back to being scared.

The blue hedgehog sitting across from her had begun acting weird, in a way that almost reminded her of his doppelganger. His head fell forward, his whole body eerily still. He didn’t even seem to be breathing.

“Sonic?”

There was no response, so she attempted to move closer to him. Carefully reaching out a hand, she gently shook his shoulder. “Wake up!”

His head abruptly shot up, eyes glazed over. He smiled sleepily at her. “Yes?”

_Oh no…is it back?_

“Are you the ring?” she asked.

“I am.”

“You still have a face…”

He touched the tip of his nose. “So I do. But worry not, I still reside within the ring. This is merely what you would call…” He scrunched up his face for a moment, trying to remember. “…a remote control?”

“…So you’re controlling him, but you’re also somewhere else?”

“Yes.”

Amy shuddered. _Creepy…_ “So then why are you here?”

“To give you this, of course.” He raised his hand, the ring reflecting the sun brightly. “He would not wish it, but I do not like seeing others in pain. If you desire it, you can heal yourself.”

She shook her head. “I can’t accept something from…someone who would go against another person’s wishes like that. Sorry.”

“You would also go against your previous statement of being a liability in battle? I have looked through our memories, so I know that you would consider being a bystander your own personal hell.” 

She looked at the ring again, this time uncertain. _If I take the ring, I could be right back by Sonic’s side in no time! But what if that’s not what happens, and I end up in an even worse state? Is it really worth the risk?_

Closing her eyes, she nodded in agreement. “Alright then, I’ll do it.”

“That’s a wise choice,” he murmured. “Now put your hand over the ring.” Amy did as he asked.

“Now try to pull it off.”

“Okay…but why can’t you do it?”

He laughed. “It is one thing for a djinn not to be able to take it off, but a ring removing itself? It’d be like asking you to remove your skin.”

“Oh…” She tugged a bit at the ring, not expecting it to come off so smoothly. He also looked a bit taken aback.

“Have you done this before?”

“What?”

“Ah…never mind. Try putting on the ring now,” he said. She slid it onto her finger, trying not to flinch as it tightened itself around it.

“So now what?”

He grinned. “You wish to be healed.”

_Okay, I can do this._ She repeated the words with a strong sense of foreboding. _Maybe I shouldn’t have done that._

“Your wish is our command,” he said. “And now I fear my time has come to leave.” Amy gasped, leaning over in a misguided attempt to stop him. But she wasn’t fast enough – he went limp and fell backwards, the impact almost immediately waking him back up.

“Wha’ jus’ ‘appen?”

“Uh, you fell asleep,” she tried to explain. “You still seem really tired. Maybe you should rest a bit more.”

“No ‘ay,” he muttered, pulling himself up.

She glanced over at the driver, who somehow hadn’t heard a thing. “Well, I think we’re a bit closer to our destination now, anyway. You can rest when we get there.”

“Okay…” he replied. “I’m starving, too.”

Leaving him be for a moment, Amy focused on her legs. She started with her toes, which she could now move with more ease than before. She bent her knees up, trying to hide her relief from the other hedgehog. The action, however, did not go unnoticed.

“What was that?”

_Oh, shit._

He must have seen the ring on her hand, for his scowl deepened. “How did you get that?”

“Funny story…” she whispered. “Your doppelganger actually gave it to me.” 

**_“What?”_** Suddenly the ire was no longer directed at her, and she found the courage to sneak a look over. He was muttering furiously to himself, staring down at nothing.

_This was definitely a mistake._


	22. Wayward Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar warrior plans to exact revenge, while a new face joins the hedgehog duo on their quest to the ocean.

This was bad. Very bad. Being trapped in the cart kept him unable to pace, so he settled for tapping his foot rapidly against the side. Amy hadn’t said a word, tucked away in the corner with her face hidden. But he couldn’t be angry with her. _It wasn’t her fault,_ he thought. _If I had just told her from the beginning, none of this would have happened._

**_Do not blame yourself._ **

He groaned inwardly. _What do you want?_

**_I do admit, giving her the ring was my idea. It is no good to be angry at her, or at yourself. I will assume full responsibility._ **

_…Well, I guess I’ll just have to tell Amy to hurry up with the other two. I don’t like this whole ‘master’ thing, anyway._

Elaheh looked at them right then with a wide grin. “Good news! We’re only a few more minutes away from the town. We actually get a lot of patients from there, I’ve heard it’s friendly. Do you two already have a place to stay there?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “We’re coming from Persepolis.” Her expression brightened even more.

“That’s where I’m from! It is a nice city, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah.” 

The rest of the ride took place in silence, conversation only resuming once they had safely passed through the town’s borders. She looked over again right as they entered the square. “You seem to be doing better,” she told Amy. “I’m glad.”

Amy managed a small smile. “Thank you,” she replied.

The two got out slowly, taking a moment to stretch before they waved goodbye at the nurse. “There’s something – “ Sonic began as soon as the nurse was out of earshot.

“That you need to say?” she finished. “I figured as much. You didn’t seem too happy with the decision earlier.”

He sighed. “Look, I never wanted someone else to wear the ring. With Ali, it was okay because…you know…but once it was over I just wanted it to _stay_ over, you know?”

“I get it,” she said. “You want me to make the last two wishes as fast as I can, right?”

“Uh – “

“I can do that,” she interrupted. “But I only wish I could take it off after one…I’m not a fan of this any more than you are, trust me.”

“…Cool. So – uh – that’s cool then.” _And I had this long speech all planned out, too…_

**_It would be wise not to underestimate our friend,_** the ring told him humorously. **_Such error would be our downfall._**

_Shut up._

**_As you wish,_** the ring laughed softly.

“We should find a place to eat,” she suggested suddenly. “You said earlier that you were starving, right? …Actually, now that I mention it, I’m kind of hungry too. There better be some good shops around here.”

“Think they have any chili dogs?”

She laughed, already walking off at a brisk pace. “Oh, Sonic.”

-

Azar watched sullenly as the next combatants were called into the arena. This time a pair of twins, wearing the same expression as her and everybody else in the waiting room. Such resignment was not an uncommon thing to see amongst them, all chances of hope blown away long ago.

“Hey, have you seen Bahar?” one of the men whispered to her. “Ever since Kir died I haven’t seen her. Do you think she’s okay?”

She gave him a look. “Haven’t you heard? The top brass took her back to their main floors to be changed.”

“Changed how?”

“To be one of their poster children of innocence to the outside world,” she said, already getting annoyed. “I know you’re new here but you should really learn to pick up on things a lot faster. It’ll save you trouble.” With that she stalked off, blatantly ignoring the rest of the astonished looks of the other newbies.

“Where are you going?”

“Out for some air. I still have six turns left before I go.” She didn’t bother to wait to hear their answer, slamming the door shut and leaning back against the wall with a heavy sigh. _Poor kid…they’re probably using the same techniques they did on me to break her down. She’s only what, seven? And I thought I was too young when I first came here…_

She looked up in determination. _This has to end now. I’m getting out of here for the final time, even if it costs me my life._

_-_

Amy was fast asleep by the time Sonic was back from the early dinner downstairs, so he settled on the bed and stared at the wall, desperately wishing for a TV.

_Never thought I’d find myself wishing to hear Tails talk about his inventions,_ he thought. _But at this point even that would be better than the wall. Even watching paint dry would be more entertaining than this!_ He quickly left the room, determined to find something to occupy his time the rest of the evening.

**_Do you feel that?_** the ring suddenly asked.

_Feel what?_

**_The solemn sensation,_** it replied. **_Did you already forget how to attune yourself to your nature? Concentrate, and you will feel it as I do._**

_A djinn can sense magical objects and stuff, right? Why does this one matter?_

**_Because there’s something off about it. Concentrate and then you will know._ **

_Fine._ He closed his eyes, listening carefully for whatever it was. _It kinda feels like it’s coming from downstairs…a little kid? Feels sad and alone._

**_Good._ **

Sonic looked down the long hallway. _Do you want me to go find them?_

**_There is no need,_** the ring said. **_They will soon be coming to us._** He didn’t have time to ask what that meant when the door at the end of the hall swung open, revealing a young woman and child. He backed up against one of the doors, trying to look casual as they got closer. The woman spared him a brief smile as she opened the door next to him. A wave of sadness hit him, almost catching him off guard.

**_Her._ **

_Her?_

**_Yes. The child is one of us. She must be freed._ **

**_What –_ **

The ring took on a hollow tone. **_The fate of a djinn is not always a happy one. She, too, has been passed into slavery._**

Alone in the hallway now, Sonic could only watch in dread as the door over swung shut with a final click.

-

Azar crouched low outside the window, waiting and listening to the elite converse on the other side. A few of her fellow combatants were behind her, anxiously awaiting her cue.

“You sure the details for next week are all finished?” someone said. “I’d hate to have a repeat of six months ago.”

“Don’t worry,” another replied. “I made sure my best assistants took care of it ages ago. Everything’s under control.”

“That’s good…how are the plans for the kid coming along? She broken yet?”

“Not quite. She seems to be resisting our lessons, we’re going to need more time with her.”

“How much? We can’t afford to wait too long.”

“Give us another two days. Then she’ll be ready, we promise.”

“She better. I’m not dealing with the director again this time.” The door opened, time seeming to slow down as they caught sight of Azar and the others. She quickly signaled to them to move, and hardly a sound echoed as they disposed of the two.

“Okay, now that that’s over,” Azar said as soon as they had met back up, “it’s time to find Bahar.”

“But they didn’t tell us where she was,” a young boy said. She grinned.

“Oh, but they did. They asked if she was ‘broken’, which means she’s in the chambers below us.”

A couple warriors shuddered involuntarily at the memory of the word. “So you’re suggesting we go down there and break her out?” Her grin grew wider.

“Precisely.”

-

“Apply more pressure, she’s still resisting.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two watched the child with cold expressions, who was sitting in the center of the room. “Is she crying?” one asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” the other replied. “If she still resists after five minutes, add another pound. That should be enough for today.”

“Yes, sir.”

They left the room soon after, the girl alone in her tears. The weights pulled on her feet and the spikes drove further into her legs. “Can I go home now?” she whispered to nobody.

-

“So what do you suggest we do?” Amy asked. She was awake now, after Sonic had come barreling back into the room and practically scaring her to death.

“Well, we can’t just leave her there,” he said. “Maybe if we wait until they leave again, then we can confront them.”

“Would that work? We don’t even know anything about them. Maybe the ring is wrong.”

“Amy, I _felt_ it. How sad she was. We need to help her.”

“Okay…” she said, still looking unsure. “So…”

**_Perhaps I can be of some assistance._ **

“What?”

Amy perked up. “Did you think of something?” He shook his head. _What kind are you offering?_

**_There may be no need to wait, when we could go to them instead._ **

_What do you mean?_

**_I mean our abilities. We – that is to say, you – have only manifested a fraction of them. I can help you to achieve much more, if you are willing._ **

_…Let me talk it over with Amy first._

**_Very well._ **

Sonic stood up and started to pace. “The, uh, ring told me that if I use them I can find a way to help. But maybe that’s not our only option.” He stopped in the middle of the floor and looked over. “What if you just wish her free?”

She brightened up. “That could work!” Then she fell into a somber mood. “But what if they find out we’re the ones who did it and come after us?”

“How would they know? The only one they’ve seen is me,” he said. “I could rescue her, and then while I’m distracting them, the two of you can get away safely. They’d never find out.”

After a moment, she nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

**_Wait._ **

_…What?_

**_This plan is not fully thought out. Perhaps the woman is not the only one in the building. Even if you do serve as a distraction to her, more could easily search the area undeterred and find them._ **

_So what are you suggesting? That I just sneak in?_

**_Yes, that would be the best course of action here. I can help us to sneak in undetected, recover the child and then flee before any of them have noticed. Granted, it works about as well as your plan, but it has a higher chance of success._ **

_Well…_

**_You would rather risk failure?_ **

_No, of course not, but –_

**_If you do not do this now, the girl will surely be lost._ **

He sighed internally. _Fine. Show me._

**_Close your eyes and reach the silence. Feel the balance with ourselves, and accept nothing but that. Once you have entered our sacred space, I will show you all that you must know._ **

_Wouldn’t it be easier to just pull me in again? I can’t help but feel like we’re wasting time here._

**_If you wish._ **

Sonic suddenly began to feel faint, everything sounding like it was now underwater. Then all at once, the light vanished, the alarmed shout of Amy quickly fading with it. He was once again in the darkness, and he kept an eye out for his doppelganger. “Hello?” he called out.

**_Hello,_** a voice said from behind. **_We do not have time for pleasantries, unfortunately. As this is your first time, I must advise that it will be somewhat jarring._** He barely had time to speak before the darkness disappeared and he was back in the middle of the room again.

“Amy!” he gasped. “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

He glanced at her. “What – oh…right, you couldn’t. Never mind.”

She seemed unsure of something, scanning the room as if trying to locate whatever it was. “Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

“Where are you?”

He froze. _Did I hear that right?_ “What are you talking about? I’m right here.” Amy narrowed her eyes, turning her head to stare right where he was.

“But I can’t see you.”

“Wha – “

**_This is to be expected_** , the ring cut in.

_What did you do?_ he growled at it.

**_I granted you an advantage – invisibility. You are to enter the room directly; the woman will not sense you, but the girl can. You will continue to be a distraction, while her and your friend slip away._ **

_That’s your brilliant plan? What if she doesn’t know what to do?_

**_Either way, we will rescue her. There is no need to worry, just do as I say._ **

_Fine then._

_-_

She watched her captor out of the corner of her eye, still and poised carefully in the seat as she waited for the woman to fall asleep. Once she was sure of it, she slowly slipped out of the chair, making her way as quietly as possible across the room to the door. Even though every move of hers was watched, they were gracious enough to still allow her the freedom to move about the perimeters as she wished for the night. She went to open the door right as she felt a surge of something unfamiliar pass through her.

Immediately tensing up, she pressed against the side and listened for any odd noises. _Another djinn? Here? Could it be the one from earlier?_

Not hearing anything at first, she cautiously peeked out. The lack of a visible presence made her relax a bit, and she opened the door a bit further. Then she felt it again as something grabbed her arm and caught her off balance, resulting in an ungraceful tumble to the floor.

“Sorry about that,” a voice said. “You okay?”

She looked up to see…nothing. But she could sense that _someone_ was there, so she gave a reply. “Yes, I’m fine. What are you doing, exactly?”

“Uh, rescuing you?”

The girl looked back at her guardian, who was still fast asleep. “What took so long?”

“Huh?”

She stood up, glaring at where she thought the head was. “Do you know how long I’ve been stuck with that bitch?! Twelve years, that’s what. And you only decide to show up now?”

“I – it’s sorta complicated, but I’ll explain after we get you out of here.”

“We?”

“Yeah, me and my friend.” A pink haired girl stepped out from behind another door, waving briefly. “You two go,” the voice instructed. “I’ll be the distraction.”

She shook her head. “No, there are spies everywhere. If they see me with someone new they’ll be after us. Once they are, they don’t stop until they catch you.”

“…In that case, we’ll just have to move all at once. You know how to become invisible, right?” The girl scoffed.

“Of course I do. What do you take me for?” She crossed her arms. “But if we’re all going, then we’ll have to avoid the other djinns. They use them to keep track of my presence so I can’t escape.”

“And I don’t suppose you know how to do that?” the pink haired girl questioned.

“Sort of, but we’re going to have to be careful. The next patrol could be coming by any minute, so we’ll have to move fast.”

“Heh, moving fast is my specialty,” the voice said with mirth. “By the way, the name’s Sonic, and that’s Amy over there.”

She nodded, then glanced at the ring on the girl’s finger. Cracking a smile, she said, “Isn’t it a little early to get hitched?” The other two scrambled for excuses, making her chuckle.

“Then I guess you should also know my name – it’s Darejan.”

“That’s a pretty name,” Amy said.

“Thanks. You ready to do this thing?”

“As we’ll ever be,” they said. All three stared down the hallway, sensing the impending approach of the next patrol.

_It’s time,_ she thought. _At last._


	23. Second Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes get a brief respite.

She had been waiting nearly her whole life for this. As one of the few natural born djinn that lived outside of Mt. Qaf, she knew she was more valuable than most, so it had only been a matter of time before she was captured. That had been the last thing her parents had told her before they went missing – then her new guardian showed up and she hadn’t known freedom since.

Now, however?

That was all about to change.

Although, she had to admit that she had never seen a djinn quite like the one standing near her before. Of course, she had encountered anthros before, but she did not think that they could be _blue._ She quickly turned invisible as the guards drew closer, the only one left now being the pink headed anthro, who summoned a weirdly colored object out of thin air and got into a defensive position.

“You,” she whispered as loud as she dared to the other girl. “You’re his master, correct?”

Amy nodded.

“I have an idea. When the guards see you, you’re going to make a wish.”

“What kind?”

“You’re going to wish for them to forget everything about me,” Darejan explained. “And that goes for all the other guards and that bitch in the room. Got it?”

“Then we wouldn’t even have to fight,” Amy replied.

“Yes.”

Amy let her thing disappear. “Alright then, I’ll do it.”

She cracked a grin. “Good, because we’re out of time.” She pointed at the guards now coming down the hallway.

-

She didn’t want to be alone anymore.

_The pain won’t stop._

Masked people kept coming and going, whispering amongst themselves and causing the spikes in the chair to hurt her more.

“Is she stable?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Good.”

She felt the chains on her ankles come undone. Someone pulled her straight up out of the chair, ordering someone else to come and wrap her legs in bandages. They held her carefully in their arms as she was attended to.

“It’s okay, Bahar,” they whispered. “Sleep now.”

Her eyes closed without objection, and she dreamt happily of her mother and brothers back home.

-

Amy was almost disappointed that she hadn’t had to fight anyone. _It would’ve been a great way to relieve some stress._ Her fingers twitched involuntarily, mourning the lack of a hammer.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as the wish took effect, the men at the end of the hallway briefly faltering before resuming their quick pace. Darejan popped back into visibility, but neither of them showed any sign of recognition.

“Hello,” one of them greeted as they passed by. Amy gave a quick nod.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Darejan spoke. “So, that worked.” She looked over at Amy. “Are the two of you going somewhere? I’ll come with you.”

“Well…”

Something tapped on her shoulder, startling her. “First thing…how am I supposed to become visible again?”

“You must be a new one,” Darejan grinned. “Haven’t met that type in a while. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do that later. We got to get out of here before anything else – where did you say you were going again?”

“To the ocean,” Amy said. “We’re supposed to meet someone there.”

Darejan nodded. “I’ve never been to the ocean before, but I look forward to it!” She pointed ahead of them, already marching off. “Let’s go!” As they walked, Amy whispered to where she thought Sonic was.

“I don’t think we can fully trust her.”

“Why not?” he replied.

“I don’t know…but I don’t think she wants to go with us ‘just’ to see the ocean.”

He was quiet for a bit, pulling Amy back just far enough to not be overheard. “Maybe, but you can always pound her with your hammer if things go south.” She grinned.

“I’ve been meaning to hit something for a while,” she whispered back.

-

Darejan slowed to a more casual pace as she finished her tale, occasionally glancing back at the two. “And that’s why I’ve been with her almost my whole life.” She sighed. “Freedom is something I never thought I’d have again, honestly.”

“Are you still planning on looking for your parents?” Amy asked.

“I don’t know. They could be anywhere by now, so I’d have no clue where to even start. Besides, I already know what I’m going to do.”

“Oh?”

“After I see the ocean, I’m heading straight to Mt. Qaf. …You can come as well, if you’d like,” she offered.

“Me?” Sonic asked.

“Yep! Oh, I almost forgot,” she said. “Becoming visible is a lot harder than you’d think, but it can be done if you have a lot of confidence in yourself. Just concentrate.”

**_Allow me._ **

He felt a bit lightheaded as his vision distorted. The forms of Amy and Darejan briefly slipped into pixels but snapped back before he had a chance to process it. Suddenly feeling weighed down, he glanced at his hands and just barely avoided jumping up in excitement.

“You did it!” Darejan said, just as excited. “With a little extra practice, I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

“...What do you mean?”

“At Mt. Qaf,” she replied. “You _are_ coming with me, yes? After we see the ocean?”

He shared a quick look with Amy, both torn between uncertainty and eagerness. “I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on! You’ll really like it there. Although, to be fair, I _have_ only heard stories of it and never actually seen it in person, but I’ve heard all good things! It’s a land of riches and beauty, where no djinn ever has to worry about being hunted or captured ever again.”

Amy stepped in before he had a chance to respond. “We were only planning to go to the ports and back, not to the mountains. We’re on a mission for someone.”

“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so?” Darejan teased. “We should get a move on before dawn hits, though.” She resumed her fast walk, whistling a low tune to herself. They followed her in near silence for a while, the only disturbances being the wind and the occasional rustle as they made their way through the dry grass.

“Hey, Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we’ll ever make it out of this book?”

_Is there?_

**_Are you asking me, or thinking to yourself?_ **

Ignoring the voice, he said, “I don’t know. I hope so…I would love nothing more than to get home.”

Amy looked ahead of them, deep in thought. “I hope it’s soon,” she whispered into the darkness.

_So do I._


End file.
